The Pisco Sour is a South American classic loved by the masses and fiercely contested over its origin. Chile and Peru both lay claim to the cocktail including Pisco itself!
Most accounts agree that it was American ex-pat Victor Morris who created the Pisco Sour recipe at his Morris’s bar in Lima, Peru 1915.
For a pisco sour you will need the following ingredients:
Pisco: BarSol Pisco Primero Quebranta is a good choice but most Pisco’s are affordable and made for the cocktail.
Freshly Squeezed Lemon & Lime juice: Fresh citrus is always best as acidity starts to depreciate after a few hours. Both lemon & lime juice is used.
Sugar Syrup: A simple syrup is needed to balance out the drink and you can find out how to make one in our simple syrup guide.
Egg White: You can buy cartons in most shops but once again, fresh is best! Get cracking.
Bitters: Amargo Chuncho is a Peruvian bitter made with over 30 herbs, peels and spices. You could also use Angostura.
As with most sour cocktails, the core ingredients are spirit, citrus, sugar and egg white. The spirit being Pisco gives it a unique flavour as it is distilled from grapes.
Generally, flavours range from dry and earth to more pungent and fruity which gives room to play around with the cocktail recipe.
The addition of bitters also makes the pisco sour stand out with Angostura bitters or Amargo Chunco bitters preferred. The addition of bitters on top of the fluffy foam adds an attractive garnish to the cocktail alongside some floral fragrance.
We like to add 3 large circles and use a toothpick to make hearts out of each one. The reason we prefer Amargo Chunco bitters is it a product of Peru with over 30 various roots, peels, herbs and flowers collected from the Peruvian forest.
In some parts of Chile, the recipe is adapted to use Chilean Pisco, Pica lime and excludes the bitters and egg white. The recipe for pisco sour in Chile has also been know to feature other fruits like pineapple or even coca leaves.
Either way, it’s a delicious and refreshing cocktail perfect for the region and both countries see it as their national drink. It’s even been rated number 23 in the world’s best-selling cocktails of 2021.
Whilst lemon or lime juice can be used for the recipe we prefer to use both to play with the acids and the egg white is a must for the creamy texture that binds the drink together.
Whilst we are on the subject of South America, for those who want to learn more we fully recommend the latest book from Ivy Mix. The book is an informative eye-opener to the world of alcohol production in South America.
From the strange methods of Pechuga to legal issues with Mezcal, there is an abundance of knowledge bombs with her own personal experiences littered within.
The stunning photography by Shannon Sturgis brings the book to life emphasing the colour of the language used to describe the people and spirits. Among the photos of agave fields and tahona wheels are a number of cocktail recipes by Ivy Mix with the classic Pisco Sours recipe being one of them.
“Morris’s Bar, opened in 1916 in Lima, Peru, by American ex-pat Victor Morris, solidified Pisco’s place within the world of classic cocktails with the Pisco Sour, for which Morris is credited as the inventor.
Morris died in 1939, at which point his many bartenders spread around the world, carrying the Pisco Sour and other great drinks with them. At our current moment in history, the Pisco Sour is what keeps Pisco on the map.”
You can learn more about Ivy Mix and her new book, On The Back Bar podcast.
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