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San Francisco Chronicle
"Mother Earth gets a taste of a new pisco-based drink"
The bar is empty and the Professor, our cocktailian bartender, is poring over an article about Machu Picchu in a travel magazine. The door opens and Julie Reiner, one of the owners of the Flatiron Lounge in Manhattan, struts to the mahogany and takes a glance at the pictures of this pre-Columbian ruin, sometimes known as the Lost City of the Incas.
"Been there, done that, Professor," she says.
"You have? Jeez, I'm jealous, Julie. Whatcha doing here on the left coast?"
"Just a little vacation, Professor. After spending time in Peru, I thought it might be good to see what's happening with Peruvian pisco brandy in the city that made it famous."
Peruvian pisco is a grape-based spirit that's made in very much the same way as Cognac, except for the fact that it's not aged, and therefore it looks much like vodka, but it tastes, well, it tastes like pisco. There can be a slight smokiness in some bottlings of pisco, though the smoke is extremely light. And many piscos come bearing lots of vegetal flavors, but they aren't the same vegetal notes that can be found in Tequila. Pisco is a product unto itself. In Peru, it's often sipped neat.
This style of brandy was once the toast of San Francisco, and Pisco Punch, a drink that was created by bartender Duncan Nichol at the Bank Exchange, a bar that used to stand on Montgomery Street, is said to have been the most popular drink in the city in the 1870s. Unfortunately, Nichol took his recipe to the grave.
The Pisco Sour, perhaps the best-known pisco-based drink in America, is said to have been created in 1915 by Victor Morris, a native of Berkeley who owned the Morris Bar in Lima, Peru, and this cocktail, a simple mix of pisco, lime juice, egg white and simple syrup, has made a big comeback in recent years. The secret to a good Pisco Sour is the angostura bitters that are dashed on top of the drink as an aromatic garnish.
A number of brands of pisco are available in San Francisco -- Barsol, Capel, Don Cesar, Montesierpe and Bauza among them -- and some brands are offered in different styles. Quebranta pisco is widely available. This style has a sturdy backbone, making it a good choice for cocktailian pursuits, and Acholado, made from a mixture of grape brandies, is also fairly easy to find. Italia pisco, a fragrant bottling, is difficult to locate here, as is Torontel, a lightly aromatic spirit.
"So Professor, wanna try my new pisco drink, the Cuzco Cocktail?" Julie hands him a recipe for her new creation, named for the Peruvian city close to Machu Picchu. The Professor smiles and sets about making the drink.
"I don't have Italia pisco, so I used the Quebranta," he tells Julie as he places the drink in front of her.
"Well, it won't be quite the same, but I don't think Pachamama will mind," she says, dipping her finger into her cocktail and flicking a few drops of the drink onto the floor.
"What are you doing, Julie? And what the heck is Pachamama?"
"Mother Earth, Professor. Pachamama is Mother Earth, and some Peruvians give Her a few drops of the fruits of her loins before taking a drink for themselves. It's an old Incan custom that I've sort of adopted."
"They really still do that?"
"Some do, Professor. I witnessed it."
"Must keep the cleaning crews busy," the Professor declares, raising his eyebrows.
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