Artesano Pisco Sour

“Pisco is Peru’s national drink and a part of the pride and joy of every Peruvian,” says Marek Trocha, bartender at Artesano in New York City, a restaurant that features elegant Peruvian cuisine. When it comes to pisco, the Pisco Sour is the classic cocktail expression of the spirit. Pisco is a spirit distilled from grapes grown in specific regions around Lima. The grape brandy has a relatively high ABV, around 40% or 80-proof. It can be dry or slightly off-dry, and tastes of herbal and earthy notes. 

A Pisco Sour is made much like a Whiskey Sour with a spirit, in this case Pisco, lime juice, a sweetener, and an egg white. The key technique for making a frothy, silky sour is by aerating the cocktail in the shaker by vigorously shaking it without ice before adding ice and completing a second shake. This is called a dry shake, and helps add air to the egg white, ostensibly whipping the cocktail before cooling it down with ice. 

At Artesano, Trocha uses gum syrup instead of simple syrup as the sweetener for his Pisco Sour. Unlike simple syrup which is made from sugar and water, gum syrup is made by blooming spices and citrus in sugar and water as it cooks. Trocha uses orange peel, cloves, cinnamon, star anise, and nutmeg for a warming blend of spices that bring depth to the sweet and sour cocktail. The orange peel plays off the lime juice in the drink, and the spices evokes some of pisco’s earthier notes. 

“Pisco is not just a liquor in a bottle, but part of the culture of Peru which I want to introduce to New Yorkers who come to visit Artesano,” says Trocha. There’s no better introduction to Peru than a Pisco sour – the tart, sweet, and earthy cocktail that is sure to please. -- Lucy Simon