Sourpuss

I finally tried a Pisco Sour tonight. I know it's the "it" South American cocktail post-caipirhinia so I had to learn to mix one up. My web research revealed two different ways to make one. One involved egg whites (like so many classic drinks) so I decided to go with the other option. (You know, bird flu and all.)

I used this recipe instead:

Pisco Sour
3 oz Pisco
1.5 oz lemon juice
2 tblsp simple sugar
Shake with ice and serve in a cocktail glass.

It was interesting and not as sickly sweet as you might think.

Then I realized that I hadn't tasted the Pisco alone first. Pisco is, according to Wikipedia:

Pisco (from Quechua: pisqu, little bird) is a liquor distilled from grapes (a brandy) made in wine-producing regions of South America. It is the most widely consumed spirit in Peru and Chile. The iconic cocktail in these countries is the pisco sour.

You know how gin has a weird aftertaste that's not initially pleasing but makes sense once you touch it to vermouth? Pisco is kind of like that. It tastes like a too-sweet or spoiled hard wine, but makes a lot more sense with the lemon juice and sugar.

That's tonight's lesson. I'm going back to mixing it with sour.