Peruvian Cuisine & Pisco Mixology in San Francisco
Pisco Balls
Anyone who celebrates the Holidays in Southern cities such as New Orleans is familiar and probably quite fond of Bourbon Balls — the boozy bonbons made with vanilla wafers, pecans, confectioner’s sugar, corn syrup, and of course, bourbon. Inspired by this legendary dessert and the Manjar Blanco bonbons I made a couple of weeks ago, I began to imagine a Peruvian version that would be a truly sweet one-bite vehicle for Pisco.
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Pisco Fog Cutter
Sometimes you just need to pay attention to signs from the cocktail gods telling you to try something new. A couple of weeks ago, I was intrigued by the Fog Cutter on the menu at Smuggler’s Cove. One of the ingredients is brandy, so immediately I mused on the possibility of using Pisco. And since yesterday was National Rum Day, I didn’t need any more reasons to use some of the Brugal Añejo I’ve been saving for special occasions.
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Pisco Tres Amigos
This Pisco cocktail pays homage to Peru, Spain, and the grape. The grape that arrived from Spain to the Ica Valley of Peru 400 years ago, where Pisco was born. The grape that in Spain is used to make Sherry, wine, and Cava. And in the Tres Amigos, three versions of the grape play beautifully — Pisco, Cava, and raw grape juice.
The inspiration for this cocktail came from The Pisco Book by Gregory Dicum, but I modified the measures and preparation after experimenting with the cocktail in search for a balance I really liked. This is also the first time I combined Pisco with another wine or spirit and after tasting the result, you can bet I’ll be doing more mixing.
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Prickly Pear Pisco
After a conversation about Pisco cocktails with a friend who recently celebrated her birthday, I was inspired to make a new Pisco cocktail and name it after her. The possible permutations and combinations for a cocktail are of course endless. And that’s what makes mixology so fascinating. But my style is to make recipes accessible and to focus on simple ingredients and techniques.
With that in mind, I poured over Pisco cocktail recipes in my library, until I found one in Gregory Dicum’s The Pisco Book — a Pisco cocktail made with sorbet. Sorbet? Yes, sorbet. It made perfect sense! It’s frozen. It’s fruity. It’s colorful. And it’s sweet. Must try. So I made my way to the frozen food section in the supermarket and stood in front of a wall of sorbet and ice cream containers — so many flavors, so little time.
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Pisco Cocktails Class at 18 Reasons
At the 18 Reasons Pisco Cocktails class, 16 Pisco-loving students spent the evening making simple syrup, cracking eggs, crushing strawberries, squeezing limes, and cracking coffee beans to make 4 different cocktails and a special take-home infusion. But we also talked about the history of Pisco, its origins in the Ica Valley of Peru, its journey from Peru to San Francisco, and the history of each cocktail we made.
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