Cocktails with Pisco
Pisco is a clear grape brandy from Peru and Chile, distilled from fermented grape must. The Peruvian style is bottled unaged and clear, tasting purely of the grape, with no oak behind it; Chilean pisco may instead be oak-rested.
ABV38–48%For Peruvian pisco, bottled at the strength it comes off the still with no water added, so 42–43% is common — and in a Pisco Sour, with egg white and lime, that carries noticeably better than a 38% bottle. Chilean pisco is graded and can go as low as 30–35%.
Substitutes for Pisco
It is an unaged grape spirit, and the family it belongs to is small: anything clear and distilled from wine sits close, anything aged does not. The aroma comes from the grape varieties, so no substitute reproduces it. Expect the shape of the drink to survive and its perfume to change.
On the label
- Peru or Chile
- Two traditions. Peruvian is stricter — no water, no aging, distilled once to strength. Chilean allows dilution and oak resting and is graded by strength (Corriente, Especial, Reservado, Gran Pisco), so it can be softer or lightly colored.
- grape (Quebranta / Italia / Torontel / Acholado)
- Quebranta is the neutral, rounder grape; Italia and Torontel are aromatic and floral; "Acholado" is a blend of several.
- "Mosto Verde"
- Distilled from partly-fermented must — richer and silkier, a premium Peruvian style.
