Every first Saturday in February, Peru celebrates Día Nacional del Pisco Sour, an annual holiday that is all about one drink: the Pisco Sour. So last Saturday was the day and we got to work with the ingredients to make this delicious cocktail.
This originally Peruvian cocktail is made with Pisco, lime juice, sugar syrup and egg white. And because we love to have fun, we celebrate with them. In a cosy cocktail bar or Peruvian restaurant, or at home, with a Pisco Sour in one hand and a plate with the most delicious Peruvian food in the other.
Pisco is also called the spirit of Peru and is an important part of Peruvian history, culture and gastronomy. The delicate distillate should be prepared with one or a mixture of the permitted eight grape varieties and is reminiscent of an unaged brandy. It is ideal for combining with sweet and sour: sugar syrup and lime juice. Add egg white and a few drops of Chuncho or Angostura bitters, et voilà: the Pisco Sour!
Events in Lima
At the beginning of the twentieth century, Peru’s aristocrats and intellectuals met in the bars and cafes of Lima. So too in Morris Bar, run by the American Victor Morris. Inspired by the whiskey sour recipe, he poured his first Pisco Sour in the 1920s. Over the years, his staff perfected the recipe and Pisco Sour has become Peru’s number one cocktail.
Where do they serve Pisco Sour?
Pisco Sour has found its way to many (cocktail) bars in Belgium. You can go to one of the following venues for a good Pisco Sour or make a reservation at one of the Peruvian restaurants below:
Bars:
Brussels: Life is Beautiful, Arthur Orlans
Leuven: Bar Nine
Ghent: Mosquito Coast, Fugazi
Antwerp: Bar Zar, Belroy’s Mas, Belroy’s Bijou, Cocktails at Nine
Restaurants:
Brussels: Dimension Latina, El Galpon
Four Peru Día Nacional del Pisco Sour at home
Peruvians like to drink a Pisco Sour as an aperitif, but the refreshing cocktail also pairs well with dinner. Of course, you can drink it all evening during Día del Pisco Sour. Start with a Pisco Sour as an aperitif and serve it with, for example, roasted pulpo with olive dip. Because of its simplicity, the cocktail is easy to prepare at home. Don’t have a shaker at home? Then use a jar, small thermos or blender.
Recipe Pisco Sour, 1 glass
- 60 ml Peruvian Pisco
- 30 ml lime juice
- 15 ml sugar syrup
- 1 egg white
- 4 ice cubes
- 3 drops of Chuncho or Angostura bitters
In a shaker, place the Pisco, lime juice, sugar syrup, egg white and ice cubes. Shake for 8 to 10 seconds. Remove the ice cubes and shake again without the ice. Pour into a chilled glass and add three drops of bitters.
A Pisco Sour goes very well with, for example, Pulpo al Olivo of the Dutch-Peruvian Katinka Lansink Dodero. She wrote Mi Casa Peru, a cookbook with eighty Peruvian recipes. Katinka: “Pisco Sour, like Lima, is beautiful, mysterious and unexpected. It is pure seduction in a glass. The acidity and bitterness of the Pisco Sour and the umami of my pulpo dish reinforce each other, making it an explosively good combination.”
Recipe Pulpo al Olivo
- 100 g seedless drained kalamata olives
- 1 clove fresh garlic
- 100 ml peanut oil
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 75 g Greek yogurt, 10% fat
- 6 tbsp whipping cream
- 4 tbsp evaporated milk
- 1/2 tbsp dijon mustard
- 200 g pre-cooked octopus tentacles
Mash all the ingredients, except the tentacles, with a hand blender to a mayonnaise-like consistency. Rinse the octopus well and pat it dry with some kitchen paper. Roast the octopus for 10 minutes in a dry frying pan so that the tentacles become nice and crispy. This is also perfect on the barbecue; the wood charcoal gives an extra flavour dimension. Place the tentacles on plates, drizzle with the olive sauce and serve with an extra bowl of the dip.
Make it a Peruvian party at home, shake the whole día Pisco Sours and treat friends and/or family to an authentic Peruvian snack.
A list of points of sale in the Benelux can be found here. For more information, check the website www.perutrade.nl/pisco.
Do you want to discover more delicious drinks? Visit our PureFood page
