Pisco Sour: how to make the cocktail recipe at home

The Pisco sour is a sour cocktail made of pisco, sugar, lime and egg white. Its alcohol content makes it a drink for true experts, but the origin of this bomb cocktail, is still in doubt today. Peru and Chile compete for the origin of pisco, a particular grape distillate, but it seems sour was born from an idea of American bartender Victor Morris who, according to the legend, prepared it as an alternative to the more famous Whiskey Sour in a Peruvian bar around 1913. One of the characteristics of this cocktail is the presence of egg white, which creates a delicate foam on the surface, seasoned with a few drops of angostura or with a sprinkling of cinnamon. Preparing Pisco sour is very easy but be careful: it is a tasty cocktail, strong and fragrant but not at all light!

How to make Pisco Sour

Take a shaker, pour in the pisco, sugar syrup, juice of half a lemon, one egg white and two spoonfuls of ice.

Shake vigorously for one minute so that the egg white begins to whip.

Pour the cocktail into an old fashioned or flûte glass, add a few drops of Angostura, garnish with a lemon or lime wedge and serve.

Tips

You can replace angostura drops with a sprinkling of cinnamon or a few drops of Peruvian bitter.

Pisco Sour Variations

For a Chilean pisco sour variation, remove the egg white from the ingredient list.

Pisco Sour Cocktail Curiosities

Although it is true that Pisco is a distillate of South American origin and it is considered a national beverage both in Chile and in Peru, it must be said that the inventor of this cocktail was a North American bartender who emigrated to Peru in 1916: Morris in fact, moved from Salt Lake City, invented Pisco sour as an alternative to whiskey sour in order to ennoble the local liquor. His idea, of course, conquered Peruvians and Americans who used to travel to South America during the prohibition period and enjoyed the exotic and fresh cocktails!

The word "pisco" comes from the earthenware containers in which this liquor was anciently served.