Cocktail recipe
Pisco Sour
Grape spirit, sharp lime and a cloud of bitters-scented foam.
Ingredients
- 60 ml (2 oz) Peruvian pisco
- 30 ml (1 oz) fresh lime juice
- 20 ml (⅔ oz) simple syrup (1:1)
- 20 ml (⅔ oz) pasteurized egg white
- Garnish: 3 drops aromatic bitters
Preparation
Dry-shake pisco, lime, syrup and pasteurized egg white until foamy, then add ice and shake again until very cold. Fine-strain into a chilled coupe; allow the foam to settle and dot the centre with three bitters drops.
Glassware
Chilled coupe
History
The modern Peruvian Pisco Sour is widely attributed to American bartender Victor Vaughen Morris at Morris’ Bar in Lima in the early 20th century, with his Peruvian apprentices helping develop the foamy egg-white and bitters-topped style. Early newspaper evidence establishes the drink’s existence by the 1920s, but stories differ on precisely when egg white and bitters became standard. Chile also has a pisco-sour tradition with different common ingredients and service. This is a Peruvian-style house version, not a claim to define all pisco sours.
Mixology View
The pisco must remain visible through the lime and foam. Three aromatic bitters drops should perfume the surface, not turn it brown.