Pisco Sour
Encyclopedia
A Pisco Sour is a cocktail
containing pisco
, lemon
or lime
juice, egg
whites, simple syrup, and bitters
and Peru
lay claim to the drink. In both countries, the variety of lime used is what North Americans would call Persian lime
but Peruvians call simply "lemons". In the United States, the drink is usually made with commonly available Lisbon or Eureka lemons. With the increased availability of Pisco
and regional bitters outside South America, the Pisco Sour, like the Mojito
and Caipirinha
, has increased in popularity in the United States
.
Since 2003, Peru has a National Pisco Sour Day which is celebrated on the first weekend of February.
itself reach back to the 16th century and stem from Colonial rule. The Spaniards
brought the grape to the Peruvian region from Europe, but the King of Spain banned wine
in the 17th Century, forcing locals to concoct a different kind of alcohol from the grape.
Guillermo Toro Lira writes in his book Wings of Cherubs that Pisco Sour's antecedent was invented near the Plaza de Toros de Acho of Lima
, in the Viceroyalty of Peru
during the 18th century. At this time, Pisco was mixed with lemons, and received the name Punche (Spanish for Punch
). This drink also served as the predecessor for the California
n Pisco punch
, invented during the 20th century in the Bank Exchange Bar of San Francisco and which contains Pisco, lemon, and pineapple.
Two accounts tell the story of the invention of the Pisco Sour.
Morris in Lima
According to the Morris account, in the early 20th century the Morris' Bar of Lima, Peru
, created and popularized the drink Pisco Sour. The bar's owner, Victor Vaughn Morris, was a bartender
born in the United States
, in Berkeley, California
. Nicknamed Gringo
, Victor Morris created the drink as a variety of the Whisky Sour. The Pisco Sour's popularity reached bars as far north as San Francisco in the United States by the 1930s. Renown Chilean historian Gonzalo Vial Correa also attributes the Pisco Sour's invention to "Gringo" Morris from the Peruvian Morris Bar, but presents his name as William Morris.
Peruvian researcher Guillermo Toro-Lira provides a much more detailed version of Victor Morris' invention. According to Toro-Lira, Morris was born in Salt Lake City, Utah
, in the United States. Morris traveled to Peru in 1903 and worked as a cashier in the Cerro de Pasco
Railway Company. On April 1, 1916, he inaugurated his bar in Lima under the name "Morris' Bar". While open, the bar served as a gathering spot for English-speaking foreigners and notable individuals such as ambassadors and wealthy businessmen. Morris' Bar remained well-known for its Pisco Sour, Victor Morris' invention, until 1929 when the bar closed due to Morris' declining health and increasing competition from other Limean bars, including the departure of some of Morris' bartenders to competing bars.
Stubb in Iquique
According to the Stubb account, the origin of the pisco sour story told of an English
steward of a sailing ship named "Sunshine". In 1872, Elliot Stubb obtained leave to disembark in the port of Iquique
, which was a Peruvian city at the time prior to it becoming a Chilean city
in 1884 , with the aim of settling in the city and opening a bar. In his bar, he experimented with many aperitifs and drinks, of which one would become the Pisco Sour.
juice), Sour de Campo (with ginger
and honey), and Sour Hass (with avocado
s, pineapple, and mint
).
In Peru, additional variations of the Pisco Sour can be found, combining some traditional Peruvian jungle fruits such as aguaymanto, cocona or traditional leaves such as the coca leaf in the Coca Sour. Another cocktail prepared with Peruvian Pisco is Chilcano (ginger ale
, honey, lemon).
Cocktail
A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink that contains two or more ingredients—at least one of the ingredients must be a spirit.Cocktails were originally a mixture of spirits, sugar, water, and bitters. The word has come to mean almost any mixed drink that contains alcohol...
containing pisco
Pisco
Pisco is a colorless or yellowish-to-amber colored grape brandy produced in winemaking regions of Chile and Peru. Pisco was developed by Spanish settlers in the 16th century as an alternative to orujo, a pomace brandy that was being imported from Spain...
, lemon
Lemon
The lemon is both a small evergreen tree native to Asia, and the tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit. The fruit is used for culinary and non-culinary purposes throughout the world – primarily for its juice, though the pulp and rind are also used, mainly in cooking and baking...
or lime
Lime (fruit)
Lime is a term referring to a number of different citrus fruits, both species and hybrids, which are typically round, green to yellow in color, 3–6 cm in diameter, and containing sour and acidic pulp. Limes are a good source of vitamin C. Limes are often used to accent the flavors of foods and...
juice, egg
Egg (food)
Eggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...
whites, simple syrup, and bitters
Bitters
A bitters is an alcoholic beverage that is flavored with herbal essences and has a bitter or bittersweet flavor. There are numerous brands of bitters that were formerly marketed as patent medicines but are now considered to be digestifs, rather than medicines...
Culture
The national origin of the pisco sour is debated. Both ChileChile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
and Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
lay claim to the drink. In both countries, the variety of lime used is what North Americans would call Persian lime
Persian lime
Persian lime , also known as Tahiti lime or Bearss lime , is a citrus fruit sold simply as a "lime" in the United States...
but Peruvians call simply "lemons". In the United States, the drink is usually made with commonly available Lisbon or Eureka lemons. With the increased availability of Pisco
Pisco
Pisco is a colorless or yellowish-to-amber colored grape brandy produced in winemaking regions of Chile and Peru. Pisco was developed by Spanish settlers in the 16th century as an alternative to orujo, a pomace brandy that was being imported from Spain...
and regional bitters outside South America, the Pisco Sour, like the Mojito
Mojito
Mojito is a traditional Cuban highball.Traditionally, a Mojito is not very strong and made of five ingredients: white rum, sugar , lime juice, sparkling water and mint. The original Cuban recipe uses spearmint or yerba buena, a mint variety very popular on the island...
and Caipirinha
Caipirinha
Caipirinha is Brazil's national cocktail, made with cachaça , sugar and lime. Cachaça is Brazil's most common distilled alcoholic beverage . Both rum and cachaça are made from sugarcane-derived products...
, has increased in popularity in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Since 2003, Peru has a National Pisco Sour Day which is celebrated on the first weekend of February.
History
The roots of PiscoPisco
Pisco is a colorless or yellowish-to-amber colored grape brandy produced in winemaking regions of Chile and Peru. Pisco was developed by Spanish settlers in the 16th century as an alternative to orujo, a pomace brandy that was being imported from Spain...
itself reach back to the 16th century and stem from Colonial rule. The Spaniards
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
brought the grape to the Peruvian region from Europe, but the King of Spain banned wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
in the 17th Century, forcing locals to concoct a different kind of alcohol from the grape.
Guillermo Toro Lira writes in his book Wings of Cherubs that Pisco Sour's antecedent was invented near the Plaza de Toros de Acho of Lima
Lima
Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...
, in the Viceroyalty of Peru
Viceroyalty of Peru
Created in 1542, the Viceroyalty of Peru was a Spanish colonial administrative district that originally contained most of Spanish-ruled South America, governed from the capital of Lima...
during the 18th century. At this time, Pisco was mixed with lemons, and received the name Punche (Spanish for Punch
Punch (drink)
Punch is the term for a wide assortment of drinks, both non-alcoholic and alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice. The drink was introduced from India to England in the early seventeenth century; from there its use spread to other countries...
). This drink also served as the predecessor for the California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
n Pisco punch
Pisco punch
Pisco punch was an alcoholic beverage invented by Duncan Nicol at a bar named Bank Exchange at the end of the 19th century, in San Francisco, California...
, invented during the 20th century in the Bank Exchange Bar of San Francisco and which contains Pisco, lemon, and pineapple.
Two accounts tell the story of the invention of the Pisco Sour.
Morris in Lima
According to the Morris account, in the early 20th century the Morris' Bar of Lima, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, created and popularized the drink Pisco Sour. The bar's owner, Victor Vaughn Morris, was a bartender
Bartender
A bartender is a person who serves beverages behind a counter in a bar, pub, tavern, or similar establishment. A bartender, in short, "tends the bar". The term barkeeper may carry a connotation of being the bar's owner...
born in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, in Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
. Nicknamed Gringo
Gringo
Gringo is a slang Spanish and Portuguese word used in Spanish-speaking and Portuguese-speaking countries in Latin America, to denote foreigners, often from the United States. The term can be applied to someone who is actually a foreigner, or it can denote a strong association or assimilation into...
, Victor Morris created the drink as a variety of the Whisky Sour. The Pisco Sour's popularity reached bars as far north as San Francisco in the United States by the 1930s. Renown Chilean historian Gonzalo Vial Correa also attributes the Pisco Sour's invention to "Gringo" Morris from the Peruvian Morris Bar, but presents his name as William Morris.
Peruvian researcher Guillermo Toro-Lira provides a much more detailed version of Victor Morris' invention. According to Toro-Lira, Morris was born in Salt Lake City, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, in the United States. Morris traveled to Peru in 1903 and worked as a cashier in the Cerro de Pasco
Cerro de Pasco
Cerro de Pasco is a city in central Peru. It is the capital of the Pasco region, and an important mining center. It is connected by road and by rail to the city of Lima.- Overview :...
Railway Company. On April 1, 1916, he inaugurated his bar in Lima under the name "Morris' Bar". While open, the bar served as a gathering spot for English-speaking foreigners and notable individuals such as ambassadors and wealthy businessmen. Morris' Bar remained well-known for its Pisco Sour, Victor Morris' invention, until 1929 when the bar closed due to Morris' declining health and increasing competition from other Limean bars, including the departure of some of Morris' bartenders to competing bars.
Stubb in Iquique
According to the Stubb account, the origin of the pisco sour story told of an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
steward of a sailing ship named "Sunshine". In 1872, Elliot Stubb obtained leave to disembark in the port of Iquique
Iquique
Iquique is a port city and commune in northern Chile, capital of both the Iquique Province and Tarapacá Region. It lies on the Pacific coast, west of the Atacama Desert and the Pampa del Tamarugal. It had a population of 216,419 as of the 2002 census...
, which was a Peruvian city at the time prior to it becoming a Chilean city
War of the Pacific
The War of the Pacific took place in western South America from 1879 through 1883. Chile fought against Bolivia and Peru. Despite cooperation among the three nations in the war against Spain, disputes soon arose over the mineral-rich Peruvian provinces of Tarapaca, Tacna, and Arica, and the...
in 1884 , with the aim of settling in the city and opening a bar. In his bar, he experimented with many aperitifs and drinks, of which one would become the Pisco Sour.
In popular culture
- The comedian Zane LampreyZane LampreyZane Lamprey is a comedian, actor, editor, producer, and writer for television and movies. He grew up in Syracuse and attended SUNY Cortland in Cortland, New York where he majored in fine arts and minored in theatre.He has had a varied career in entertainment...
, host of the show Three Sheets, filmed an episode in Chile which featured various beverages, including Pisco Sour which aired in 2009. - American celebrity chefCelebrity chefA celebrity chef is a kitchen chef who has become famous and well known. Today celebrity chefs often become celebrities by presenting cookery advice and demonstrations via mass media, especially television. Historically, celebrity chefs have included Antoine Carême and Martino da Como.-External...
Anthony BourdainAnthony BourdainAnthony Michael "Tony" Bourdain is an American chef, author and television personality. He is well known for his 2000 book Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, and is the host of Travel Channel's culinary and cultural adventure program Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.A...
filmed an episode for the Travel ChannelTravel ChannelThe Travel Channel is a satellite and cable television channel that is headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland, US. It features documentaries and how-to shows related to travel and leisure around the United States and throughout the world. Programming has included shows in African animal safaris,...
program Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations in Chile, in which he expressed his disgust for the Chilean version of the Pisco Sour. Jorge López, the episode's Chilean producer and Bourdain's travel partner in Chile, explained that chef Bourdain found the Pisco Sour he had in the ValparaisoValparaísoValparaíso is a city and commune of Chile, center of its third largest conurbation and one of the country's most important seaports and an increasing cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. The city is the capital of the Valparaíso Province and the Valparaíso Region...
restaurant "La Playa" as boring and worthless. Lopez added that chef Bourdain had just recently arrived from Peru, where he drank and enjoyed several Pisco Sours, which he thought were better tasting than the Chilean versions. A Chilean critic, Enrique Rivera, countered that chef Bourdain is a celebrity who generalizes the quality of a country's food by tasting only at a few places. A local newspaper in Chile further expressed that Bourdain's comment "constitutes a painful stab wound to the national pride." - On November 17, 2009 Adal RamonesAdal RamonesAdalberto Javier Ramones Martínez is a Mexican television show host and comedian who is known for his comments on Mexican and international social life...
, a Mexican television show host and comedian, made a joke about Pisco Sours, in regard to the 2009 Chile-Peru espionage scandal2009 Chile-Peru espionage scandalThe 2009 Chile-Peru espionage scandal was a diplomatic crisis that occurred when a Peruvian court ordered the arrest of two Chilean military officers over allegedly bribing a Peruvian air force officer...
: "What do the Chileans want to spy from Peru? How to make a good Pisco Sour?" - In late 2010 Mexican singer-songwriter Aleks SyntekAleks SyntekRaúl Alejandro Escajadillo Peña , better known as Aleks Syntek, is a Mexican singer, songwriter and producer. He is married to Karen Coronado, sister of talkshow host Ingrid Coronado.-Biography:...
created controversy via TwitterTwitterTwitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
when he posted that the Pisco Sour is Chilean. After receiving a critical response from the Peruvian Twitter community, Syntek posted that he was only kidding. - In his series of novels beginning with the book Revelation Space, author Alastair ReynoldsAlastair ReynoldsAlastair Preston Reynolds is a British science fiction author. He specialises in dark hard science fiction and space opera. He spent his early years in Cornwall, moved back to Wales before going to Newcastle, where he read physics and astronomy. Afterwards, he earned a PhD from St Andrews, Scotland...
wrote several characters who prefer pisco sours, and trying to convince others to try the beverage.
Different variations
In Chile, different spin-offs of the Pisco Sour recipe can be found, such as the Ají Sour (with a spicy green chili), Mango Sour (with mangoMango
The mango is a fleshy stone fruit belonging to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. The mango is native to India from where it spread all over the world. It is also the most cultivated fruit of the tropical world. While...
juice), Sour de Campo (with ginger
Ginger
Ginger is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, consumed as a delicacy, medicine, or spice. It lends its name to its genus and family . Other notable members of this plant family are turmeric, cardamom, and galangal....
and honey), and Sour Hass (with avocado
Avocado
The avocado is a tree native to Central Mexico, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae along with cinnamon, camphor and bay laurel...
s, pineapple, and mint
MiNT
MiNT is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST and its successors. Together with the free system components fVDI , XaAES , and TeraDesk , MiNT provides a free TOS compatible replacement OS that is capable of multitasking.MiNT was originally released by Eric Smith as...
).
In Peru, additional variations of the Pisco Sour can be found, combining some traditional Peruvian jungle fruits such as aguaymanto, cocona or traditional leaves such as the coca leaf in the Coca Sour. Another cocktail prepared with Peruvian Pisco is Chilcano (ginger ale
Ginger ale
Ginger ale is a carbonated soft drink flavored with ginger. Dr. Thomas Cantrell, an American apothecary and surgeon, claimed to have invented ginger ale and marketed it with beverage manufacturer Grattan and Company. Grattan embossed the slogan "The Original Makers of Ginger Ale" on its bottles...
, honey, lemon).
See also
- PiscoPiscoPisco is a colorless or yellowish-to-amber colored grape brandy produced in winemaking regions of Chile and Peru. Pisco was developed by Spanish settlers in the 16th century as an alternative to orujo, a pomace brandy that was being imported from Spain...
- Sour (cocktail)Sour (cocktail)A sour is a traditional family of mixed drinks. Common examples of sours are the Margarita and the Sidecar. Sours belong to one of the old families of original cocktails and are described by Jerry Thomas in his 1862 book, How to Mix Drinks Sours are mixed drinks containing a base liquor , lemon...
- List of cocktails with less common spirits
- Peruvian cuisine and drinks
External links
- Go2Peru.com - Tourism site with information about Peruvian Pisco along with a recipe.
- Piscosour.com - The most complete website about Pisco Sour.