Pisco sour shows off fruity complexity of Peru’s beloved grape spirit

One of the world’s spirits with a distinct sense of place — imbued with all the traits that the natural environment, from soil to climate, influenced it with — is pisco, a brandy made in Peru and Chile’s winemaking regions.

Perhaps even more deeply tied to the land is pisco’s biggest producer, Hacienda La Caravedo, a Peruvian distillery that has been making the white spirit since 1684, now through the Portón brand. The pisco that current Portón distiller Johnny Schuler makes comes from estate-grown grapes that sprout from the distillery’s land, nestled in the Ica Valley of Peru in the foothills of the Andes.

The result of the pisco’s distinct terroir is a silky beverage with a complex symphony of savory and tropical fruit flavors and a stewed stone fruit finish. It’s just as easy to drink by itself as in a cocktail, but if you do want it in a drink, try it in the pisco sour, the creation of an American bartender living in Peru in the 1920s. This Prohibition-era cocktail has helped to introduce many a drinker to the flavorful pisco.