What is Chilcano de pisco?

Not to be confused with chilcano de pescado (a fish soup), a chilcano de pisco is a refreshing cocktail made with pisco, a unique brandy produced in Peru. It’s simpler to make than the well-known pisco sour—you just pour the ingredients over ice and they mix themselves.

What kind of liquor is pisco Portón?

It is a grape-based, distilled Peruvian liquor that has been around since the 17th century. The liquor was very popular in the United States during the 19th century, especially in San Francisco where the Pisco Punch was all the rage.

What does Chilean pisco taste like?

Well-made pisco is surprisingly smooth, and low-quality pisco is described as funky or musty. It’s either semi-sweet or dry, with grape flavor notes, along with herbal, earthy notes comparable to tequila. Chilean pisco is often more floral.

What is pisco made of?

Surprisingly, it’s made from grapes. In Peru, pisco is produced only using copper pot stills, like single malt Scotch whiskies, rather than continuous stills like most vodkas. Unlike the Chilean variety, Peruvian pisco is never diluted after it is distilled and enters the bottle directly at its distillation strength.

Can you drink Pisco straight?

If you’re going to drink it straight, swing for an aged Chilean pisco. Because it’s aged on wood, the flavors are more rounded, landing somewhere between a cognac and a delicate rum with a brighter, more citrusy nose. “Aged pisco rested in active wood for at least a year is excellent as a digestif,” Somoza recommends.

What is the difference between pisco and brandy?

Pisco is a type of brandy, which is to say that it’s a spirit distilled from wine or fermented fruit juice. Beyond that, it’s far removed from, and in some ways even diametrically opposed to, the type of brandy that most people conjure up in their heads, namely, well-aged Cognac.

What is a good substitute for pisco?

Gourmet Sleuth recommends substituting white tequila for pisco when making this beverage. White tequila works best as a direct substitute for non-aromatic piscos made from Quebranta grapes, according to the Latin Kitchen.

Can you drink pisco straight?

Is pisco a Chilean or Peruvian?

Pisco is a colorless or yellowish-to-amber colored brandy produced in winemaking regions of Peru and Chile. Made by distilling fermented grape juice into a high-proof spirit, it was developed by 16th-century Spanish settlers as an alternative to orujo, a pomace brandy that was being imported from Spain.

What percent alcohol is pisco?

Pisco must not only be single distilled, it must also be distilled to proof, at between 38 to 48 percent ABV. That means producers can’t add water after distillation, which is standard for other spirits, from whiskey to rum, vodka to gin.

Does Pisco go bad?

Spirits are completely shelf stable. Unlike wine, which can sometimes develop an off taste during storage, or rapidly go downhill once it’s been opened, liquor will keep indefinitely.

What kind of Pisco is in chilcano de Pisco?

Chilcanos are surprisingly good for such a simple drink. The lime, pisco, and ginger ale are combined to make something new and better. The sweetness and effervescence of the ginger ale marries nicely with the tart lime juice and herbaceous pisco. They’re the perfect drink on a hot summer evening.

How to make chilcano de Pisco with ginger ale?

Fill an 8-ounce tumbler with ice cubes. Pour the pisco over the ice. Squeeze the lime juice into the glass. Fill the glass with the ginger ale, and garnish with lime. This refreshing cocktail is easy to make as a pitcher drink.

What kind of drink is the chilcano from Peru?

They both inhabit the Chilcano, a Peruvian drink that has been refreshing local palates since the 1800s. Though lesser known than famous bucks like the Moscow Mule and the most famous pisco drink, the Pisco Sour, the Chilcano predates both classics by decades.

How did chilcano de pescado get its name?

The Chilcano shares its name with chilcano de pescado, a fish soup that is a popular remedy for hangovers in Peru. It’s believed that the drink was given the same name for its own restorative properties. Pisco is a diverse spirit, with several designated varieties that describe the types of grapes and production processes used to make it.