flipPisco Sour
Pisco Sour
Why this dish? Peru's national drink, the pisco sour is the glass of conversations, parties, and debates — the liquid element of that 'conversation in the Cathedral' that Vargas Llosa loved above all. It is served before or after the criollo lunch, to loosen tongues.
Frothy cocktail made from grape brandy (pisco), lime, sugar syrup, and egg white, crowned with a dash of bitters. Tart, silky, treacherously smooth.
One does not remake Peru on an empty stomach, my friend. The pisco sour is our national weapon: sweet in appearance, formidable by the third glass. The right measure is three parts pisco, one of lime, one of syrup — and that egg white beaten to give it that white foam, that frothy collar on which you drop three drops of bitters like a signature. You toast, you talk, and suddenly the sentences come on their own. But drink it cold and slow: it forgives haste poorly.
- •Pisco (grape brandy) — three measures (base alcohol)
- •Lime (limón) — one measure (acidity)
- •Sugar syrup — one measure (sweetness)
- •Egg white — one (silky foam)
- •Bitters (amargo) — a few drops (aromatic finish)
Pisco Sour
Frothy cocktail made from grape brandy (pisco), lime, sugar syrup, and egg white, crowned with a dash of bitters. Tart, silky, treacherously smooth.
Why this dish? Peru's national drink, the pisco sour is the glass of conversations, parties, and debates — the liquid element of that 'conversation in the Cathedral' that Vargas Llosa loved above all. It is served before or after the criollo lunch, to loosen tongues.
One does not remake Peru on an empty stomach, my friend. The pisco sour is our national weapon: sweet in appearance, formidable by the third glass. The right measure is three parts pisco, one of lime, one of syrup — and that egg white beaten to give it that white foam, that frothy collar on which you drop three drops of bitters like a signature. You toast, you talk, and suddenly the sentences come on their own. But drink it cold and slow: it forgives haste poorly.
Ingredients (period version)
- Pisco (grape brandy) — three measures (base alcohol)
- Lime (limón) — one measure (acidity)
- Sugar syrup — one measure (sweetness)
- Egg white — one (silky foam)
- Bitters (amargo) — a few drops (aromatic finish)
Ingredients
- Pisco — 6 cl (alcohol)
- Lime juice — 2 cl (acidity)
- Sugar syrup — 2 cl (sweetness)
- Egg white — 1 (or 2 cl) (foam)
- Angostura bitters — 3 drops (finish)
- Ice cubes — a handful (cold)
Method
- Pour pisco, lime juice, syrup, and egg white into a shaker WITHOUT ice.
- Shake vigorously (dry shake) to emulsify the egg white.
- Add ice and shake again until the shaker is ice-cold.
- Strain into a short glass. Let the foam rise.
- Drop 3 drops of Angostura on the foam. Serve immediately.
How it was made : Pisco has been distilled from southern Peruvian grapes since colonial times; the cocktail as we know it is attributed to a Lima bar in the 1920s. The paternity of pisco itself is a longstanding friendly dispute between Peru and Chile — a subject on which Vargas Llosa would surely have had a strong opinion.
The contemporary twist : Try a maracuyá (passion fruit) version for a tropical sour, or infuse the syrup with coca leaves for an Andean twist.
Mario Vargas Llosa · Charactorium
