The Pisco Sour is a bootlegger cocktail from Lima, 1920s. Built on pisco, served in a coupe, around 22% ABV. Pisco Day in Peru is the first Saturday of February. The drink was invented in the 1920s by Victor Vaughen Morris, an American expat saloon-keeper in Lima.
What goes in a Pisco Sour?
- ·2 oz pisco
- ·3/4 oz fresh lime juice
- ·3/4 oz simple syrup
- ·1 egg white
- ·2 dashes Angostura bitters
How do you make a Pisco Sour?
- Dry-shake the pisco, lime, syrup, and egg white for 15 seconds.
- Add ice. Shake until very cold.
- Strain into a chilled coupe.
- Drop the bitters in three dots on the foam, drag a toothpick through to make a feathered pattern.
What should you know before making a Pisco Sour?
- Use Pisco Quebranta or Italia, not aromatic pisco for this. Aromatic pisco overpowers the egg white.
- The bitters dot pattern on the foam is the signature presentation. A bartender who skips it has not made a real pisco sour.
- Lime, never lemon. Peruvian limes (which are smaller and more acidic) are the original; key limes are the closest US substitute.
Where did the Pisco Sour come from?
Pisco Day in Peru is the first Saturday of February. The drink was invented in the 1920s by Victor Vaughen Morris, an American expat saloon-keeper in Lima. He kept the recipe a secret for fifty years. Today the cocktail is the official drink of Peru and is also claimed by Chile, leading to one of South America's most enduring drink wars.
According to Victor Vaughen Morris, Morris' Bar, Hotel Maury, Lima.
What cocktails are similar to a Pisco Sour?
Common questions.
What is pisco?
A South American grape brandy distilled from fermented wine grapes. Peru and Chile both produce it; their styles differ. Peruvian pisco is bottled at full proof; Chilean pisco is often diluted.
Is Pisco Sour Peruvian or Chilean?
Both countries claim it. Peru has the older documented recipe (Morris' Bar, Lima, 1920s). Chile makes a different but related version. Pick a side and order it that way.
Can you make Pisco Sour without egg white?
You can. The Chilean version skips it. The Peruvian version requires it for the foam-and-bitters presentation. Without egg white the drink is a lime daiquiri with brandy.
What does pisco taste like?
Floral, slightly grassy, with a clean grape-skin character. It is closer to a young grappa than to brandy. Quality pisco is unaged.