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Last week I attended a pisco tasting put on by Pisco Control, which is launching its new Control C pisco in the U.S. with a tour called “A Million Rays of Sunshine” (definitely a bastardization of the original quote, though it does sound nice). In attendance was Claudia Olmedo, who literally wrote the book on Chilean pisco: 40 Grados, which covers pisco history, production, styles, and tasting, as well as including a guide to about 30 Chilean piscos, cocktail recipes, and pisco pairings (with both chocolate and cigars).
- Andrew Kist
- 1931
Olmedo talked about what pisco is: a spirit made from grapes, which in Chile is produced only in the Atacama and Coquimbo regions. There are five varieties of grapes that can be used (torontel, Pedro Ximenez, and three varieties of muscat), and they’re essentially made into wine before being distilled into pisco, a fairly sweet spirit (in the way that rum is sweet; not syrupy like most liqueurs). There are ongoing heated debates over whether pisco was originally Peruvian or Chilean, which Olmedo didn’t get into and I won’t either (I do have plenty more to say about pisco, but that’ll have to wait for another post).
Dry shake egg white. Add all ingredients. Shake and strain into a rocks glass with fresh ice cubes. Garnish with hibiscus leaves.
