We’re loving pisco lately here at the Tin Lizzie Lounge. If you haven’t heard of it, pisco is a grape brandy from Peru or Chile, developed by Spanish settlers in the 16th century to provide an alternative to the Spanish-imported pomace brandy orujo. We have Peruvian pisco here at the Lounge for your enjoyment: Pisco Portón.
Distilled in the Andes mountains, Pisco Portón “personifies adventure in the form of the world’s ultra-premium white spirit.” Peruvian pisco is distilled in copper pot stills, much like single malt Scotch whiskies. In Peru, the first Saturday of February is “Pisco Sour Day” – coming up on February 1st!
While we’re on the subject, the Pisco Sour is an authentic South American cocktail. It came from Lima, Peru and was actually invented by an American bartender named Victor Vaughen Morris, in the early 1920s. The Pisco Sour we drink today was adjusted from Morris’ original recipe by one of his bartenders at Morris’ Bar in Lima, Mario Bruiget, who added bitters and egg whites to the recipe.
The Pisco Sour is the national drink of both Chile and Peru, and the two countries have a standing debate about who was the originator of both the spirit and the classic Pisco Sour cocktail. Chileans claim that the drink was concocted by an English ship steward by the name of Elliot Stubb in 1872 (so, earlier than Mr. Morris in Lima) in Iquique – which was then a Peruvian port city, but is now part of Chile. The drink’s heritage is not the only thing at stake in this debate: it’s mostly the argument over whom has the exclusive right to produce and market Pisco.
And now… The true Pisco Sour recipe:
In a martini shaker, fill halfway with ice. Pour in 2 ounces of pisco, 1 oz. of lime juice, 1 oz. of simple syrup and 1 oz. of egg whites. Shake hard and strain into a glass. Garnish with just a touch of bitters.
Enjoy!
You can enjoy the classic Pisco Sour here at the Lounge anytime, or make it yourself at home for a refreshing, delicious cocktail. And don’t miss out on some fun, Pisco themed happenings at our Uptown lounge! We recently had a Pisco night at the Tin Lizzie Lounge, and people seemed to really enjoy it, so it’ll probably be back again soon!