Pisco. While recently seeking out my first bottle of pisco, I chatted with a bartender at the incredible Canon Seattle, who recommended Encanto, so here we are. Most widely known for its use in the Pisco Sour, pisco is a brandy distilled from fermented grape juice (aka wine) made in Peru and Chile.

Brandy is any spirit distilled from fruits, so pisco does fall into the same larger category as cognac, calvados, applejack, palinka, and the sort. However, in comparison to other grape brandies such as cognac and American brandy, pisco differs significantly due to its method of production and types of grapes used.

Unlike the copper-colored aged brandies that exude heavy warm woody/oak flavors, pisco never enters wood barrels to let the crisp fresh flavors of the highly sweet grapes shine through. Without the process of barrel aging to mellow out the distilled spirit, there is a critical focus on the chosen grapes, which are extremely sweet and aromatic – a single bottle requires about 20 lbs of fruit! As the wine is distilled, the end product has no sugar and just carries the delicious fragrance of juicy fresh grapes.

Pisco actually played a crucial role in San Francisco culture in the 1800s during the Gold Rush period. It was extremely popular and this is when the Pisco Punch was born, a drink renowned for its lemonade-like facade with a potency that “comes back with the kick of a roped steer.” As eloquently put by poet Rudyard Kipling: Pisco is “compounded of the shavings of cherub’s wings, the glory of a tropical dawn, the red clouds of sunset and the fragments of lost epics by dead masters.” This delicious spirit is deceptively innocent, so drinkers beware. 😉

For recipes with pisco, click here.