In Peru, Pisco Sour is quite a symbol, to the point of having become the national drink that can be tasted almost everywhere. However, the Chilean neighbor does not hear it that way since he also claims the origin of this cocktail where pisco and lime combine wonderfully.
Here is a cocktail whose recognition of paternity almost borders on the diplomatic incident. For decades, Peru and Chile have been arguing over the question of the “nationality” of Pisco Sour, as has the location of the original name of pisco, the brandy obtained by distillation of grapes, which goes into the cocktail recipe.
As for the first conflict, the Chileans argue that an English steward by the name of Elliott Stubb would have mixed lime juice, sugar syrup and ice cubes as early as 1872 in order to prepare cocktails in a bar that it had opened in the port of Iquique. In detail that the most attested version of a Pisco Sour also includes egg white, which once shaked with all the ingredients, brings a nice smoothness to the cocktail, at the same time that it softens the flavor. citrus acidity (when it is not, as was the case during prohibition, to reduce the harshness of a low quality alcohol). But above all, no offense to the Chileans, research shows that there was confusion, because the sailor in fact made whiskey sisters, the ancestor of the category of sisters. Logically, the Peruvian version which attributes the creation to Victor Vaughn Morris would seem the most likely. This American emigrated to Peru in 1903 to work for the railway company in Cerro de Pasco. Legend has it that he would have liked to prepare sister whiskeys at the inauguration of the line from Oroyo, but for lack of whiskey or bourbon, he used pisco.
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The final Peruvian touch
Subsequently, in 1916, Morris moved to Lima where he opened a bar in the historic center. His cocktail met with great success and bartenders having worked behind the Morris counter, did not hesitate to reproduce it later in other establishments, notably at the bar of the Hotel Bolivar, at the Lima Country Club or at the Hotel Maury. It is also one of them, Mario Alfonso Bruite Burgos who introduced the fact of adding drops of bitters to the final touch. But since the debates on cocktails never seem really closed, a Peruvian historian recently got hold of a cookery book dated 1903 where there is already talk of a recipe with exactly the same ingredients, and simply bearing the cocktail name.
Either way, Pisco Sour is the subject of a cult following in Lima. Not a bar or a restaurant does without it.
From Pisco Sour to Pisco Weeks
And since 2004, every first Saturday of February is celebrated as the official day of Pisco Sour while Pisco Weeks have since emerged in Paris or London. The historical addresses, mentioned above, have over time become landmarks for tourists where one will not necessarily taste the best Pisco Sour. It is therefore advisable to visit serious addresses such as Malabar or Carnival which use premium pisco, or even to be tempted by a variation at ámaZ whose products used come exclusively from the Amazon. But one thing is certain, a Pisco sour drunk in Peru or Chile for that matter is bound to have a milder flavor than anywhere else. This is because of the quality of the limes, the juice of which is much less acidic than those that can be found in Europe.
Six places to taste a Pisco Sour
IN FRANCE
Coya, 83 rue du Bac, 75007 Paris. Phone. : 01 43 22 00 65.
Manko Bar, 15 avenue Montaigne, 75008 Paris. Phone. : 01 82 28 00 15.
Piscobar, Hotel 1K Paris, 13 boulevard du Temple, 75003 Paris. Tel. : 01 42 71 20 00.
IN PERU
Malabar, Av. Camino Real 101, San Isidro, Peru. Phone. : + 51 1 440 5200.
Carnaval Bar, Av. Pardo y Aliaga 662, San Isidro, Peru. Phone. : + 51 1 642 9048.
ÁmaZ, Av. la Paz 1079, Miraflores, Pérou. Tel.: +51 1 2219393.
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