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National pride and Pisco Sours
“We’ve been to war. Not over Pisco, but maybe we should have.” Raul Escobar, General Manager of the swank Pan-Latin restaurant La Sombra jokes about the longstanding cultural divide between Peru and Chile. The matter of contention? Which country first distilled the grape brandy Pisco, and which one makes the best Pisco Sour, a mixture of citrus, sugar, Pisco and egg whites.
Peru celebrates National Pisco Sour Day on the first Saturday of February, so while Peruvians celebrate their national cocktail in South America, the battle of which sour tastes the best will likely wage between ex-pats in bars across the U.S.
There are several factors that differentiate a Chilean from Peruvian Pisco Sour. First, the type of Pisco used. The type of grape, which parts of the grape are distilled and whether the spirit is aged or not and for how long vary from distillery to distillery, thus yielding wildly different tasting spirits. Secondly, the cocktails differ in their use of citrus. The Chilean version uses lemon juice, while Peruvians use limones verdes, or what we know as limes for the juice component.
Escobar (above), who hails from Chile, deals with the divisive Pisco Sour battle on a daily basis at La Sombra. The restaurant’s Executive Chef Julio-Cesar Florez, from Peru, also believes that his country makes the superior version of the cocktail. The playful competition between manager and chef eventually led to a party last fall aptly named The Great Pisco Divide.
When asked about the event, Escobar explained that he was raised drinking Pisco Sours as part of daily culture, and it has always been his “dream to throw a party and have everyone drinking Pisco Sours.” For the Great Pisco Divide, they offered blind tastings of each country’s variation to guests. Escobar beamed when he exclaimed that the Chilean version was the crowd favorite, winning tasters over 64 to 47. He also teased that some of the long-time Peruvian sour drinkers chose the Chilean version during the blind tasting, and were so distraught that have not been back to the restaurant since.
Natives may argue until the end of time about which cocktail tastes more authentic or delicious, but to the impartial taster, comparing one version to the other is like comparing apples to oranges. They are distinctive and each type showcases different aspects of the Pisco used. At La Sombra the Chilean version tastes light, balanced and delicate, whereas the Peruvian version has a little more funk, density and depth. Each one showcases the base spirit well, and makes a refreshing drink.
Figure out for yourself which tasting team you support. La Sombra will have happy hour specials all day today, Saturday Feb. 5 to celebrate Peru’s National Pisco Sour day. Several places around town offer their variations on the Pisco Sour as well. You can try the cocktail at La Condesa, Fino, Peché, or Takoba.
Here’s one version of a recipe for the Peruvian style, if you want to make one at home:
1.5 oz. Pisco
.75 oz. Lime juice
1 oz. Simple syrup
1 Egg white
Angostura bitters
Substitute lemon juice for the lime juice if you want a Chilean version. Raul Escobar recommends the Peruvian Don Cesar Especial pisco, or Chilean Capel, which he grew up drinking at home.
Austin bartenders have played with versions of their own Pisco Sours as well. Check out some of them in the Austin360 Cocktail Recipe database including one from Adam Bryan of Bar Congress, the Pisco Fuego, which includes the french elderflower liqueur St. Germain in the mix. Garrett Mikell of Peche contributed a Pisco Sour recipe that also benefits from flames, the Scorched Pisco Sour (photo below).
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment Categories: Cocktails, Recipes, Spirits
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By Guillermo Pare
February 7, 2011 1:08 PM | Link to this
Pisco sour, runs within the veins of peruvians as a feeling and pride. For another country (ies) they found a way to make money, because of the great market out there of consumers. There is no doubts that a neighbor country try to copy the identity, for a good reason ” they dont have it”. So is ok that they try to copy something that is GOOD, Peru since the colony the grapes were planted first, so is obvious that Pisco born in the middle of Peru. Besides that, our friends on Chile they by our grapes in order to create Chilean wines, so when you drink Chilean wines, remember they are made by Peruvian grapes.