Pisco Sour Recipe

The pisco sour is sweet-tart, richly textured and crowned with a fluffy white top. The origins of the drink, a blend of pisco (a South American brandy), citrus, sugar and egg white, come with some debate as to whether it originated in Chile or Peru. But it is most commonly said to have been created in the early 20th century by Victor Morris, an American expatriate in Peru. While this recipe calls for using exclusively lime juice, a combination of fresh lime and lemon juice (½ ounce lemon, ½ ounce lime) works as well. Just don’t skip the aromatic bitters, added as a final garnish and often in a decorative pattern: They contribute to the drink’s final aesthetic and aroma.

Perfect Pisco Sour

The Pisco sour is one of the great classic cocktails! The magic meld of pisco and lime in this Peruvian drink gives it a flavor that’s like none other.

Prep: 5min

Total: 5min

Yield: 1

Nutrition Facts: servingSize None, calories 178 calories, Sugar 7 g, Sodium 56 mg, Fat 0.1 g, Saturated Fat 0 g, Trans Fat 0 g, Carbohydrate 9.1 g, Fiber 0.1 g, Protein 3.7 g, Cholesterol 0 mg

Ingredients:

• 2 ounces (4 tablespoons) pisco
• 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) lime juice
• 1/2 ounce (1 tablespoon) simple syrup
• 1 egg white
• For the garnish: 3 dashes bitters

Instruction:

1. Add the pisco, lime juice, simple syrup and egg white to a cocktail shaker without ice. Shake for 15 seconds.
2. Add the ice to the cocktail shaker. Shake again for 30 seconds.
3. Strain the drink into a cocktail glass; the foam will collect at the top. Garnish with bitters on the foam.

Pisco Sour (Difford’s recipe)

All the Peruvian bartenders I’ve met prefer their Pisco Sours blended rather than shaken. Indeed, it is a brilliant cocktail when blended but I prefer my Pisco Sours shaken. (In Cuba Daiquiris also tend to be blended but I also prefer these shaken.) While some like to omit the egg white, like most sour-style cocktails, the Pisco Sour is better with egg, although half the white of a small fresh egg white is plenty (around 15ml / ½oz). Some also advocate the use of powdered sugar in place of caster sugar syrup and indeed this can add to this sour (like the Daiquiri). In which case, you’ll need 3 spoons (5ml sized measuring bowl) of powdered sugar in place of the syrup. More worthy of debate is the choice of pisco. My Peruvian friends favour pisco made from the Quebranta grape or even acholado (a blend of varieties). However, I prefer to use Peruvian pisco made from the more aromatic Italia grape, preferably mosto verde Italia pisco. Alternatively, there are also good-value Chilean pisco alternatives. Convention has it that the Pisco Sour is garnished with three drops of bitters dropped symmetrically onto its foaming head. This not only adds to the visual appearance, but the aroma of the bitters also helps mask the wet dog-like smell of egg white. Angostura or similar aromatic bitters are fine but for authenticity consider using Peruvian Amargo Chuncho bitters which are based on various Amazonian barks and herbs. Some also dust the surface of the drink, or the rim of the glass, with cinnamon. Somewhat controversially, if the use of Italia pisco were not enough, I also like to add a dash of orange flower water to my Pisco Sours. I also tend to serve them straight-up in a frozen heavy-bottomed old-fashioned glass to help retain the drink’s cold temperature but a frozen coupe also works well.

Prep: 03

Total: 03

Yield: 1

Nutrition Facts: calories 152 calories

Ingredients:

• 60 ml Pisco
• 22.5 ml Lime juice (freshly squeezed)
• 15 ml Sugar syrup ‘rich’ 2 sugar to 1 water
• 15 ml Pasteurised egg white (or aquafaba)
• 2.5 ml Orange flower/blossom water (optional)

Instruction:

1. SHAKE all ingredients with ice and strain back into shaker
2. DRY SHAKE (without ice) and fine strain into chilled glass

Traditional Peruvian Pisco Sour

The pisco sour is the traditional cocktail of Peru and is easily prepared with pisco, lemon, egg and other supplies available to everyone.

Prep: 5min

Ingredients:

• 2 ounces pure pisco ((50ml))
• 2 drops Angostura Bitters
• 2 ounce simple syrup ((50ml))
• 2 ounce lime juice ((50ml))
• 1 egg white
• 6 ice cubes (optional)

Instruction:

1. Put in a shaker or blender all essential inputs in the following order: first the pisco, then the simple syrup, then lime juice, and finally the egg white.
2. Add ice cubes.
3. If using a cocktail shaker, beat for 10 seconds. If using blender, liquefy for five seconds.
4. Serve in two stages: first to serve the cup halfway, pause and then complete filling the other half.
5. Decorate the top of each glass or cup with two drops of bitters.
6. Enjoy and drink in moderation.

Pisco Sour Cocktail Recipe