Pisco and the Pisco Punch
Pisco is a product that had once been extremely difficult to find here in America, but recently we’ve been seeing a variety of different brands being exported from South America.
Technically, Pisco is a form of brandy in-so-much as it is made from grapes. Any spirit distilled from fruit is considered a brandy, with grape brandies the most common. Pisco is probably closest in character to grappa, which is also a brandy traditionally made in Italy from the leftovers of wine production.
The specific history of Pisco is a little murky, as well as in dispute. Depending on who you might be talking to, it originates in either Peru, or Chile. The oldest known reference to a distilled grape-based spirit from the region is in 1613, from the Spanish colonies in Peru.
It is believed that Pisco got it start when wines were being produced for export, and those wines which were not seen as good enough, were given over to the farmers, who would distill it to produce a firey spirit for their personal consumption, which is similar to the origins of grappa in Italy.
Even the origins of the name Pisco are up to speculation. There are some who say it is named after the town/port of Pisco, which takes its name from the Quechua language, where the word “pisqu” refers to the small birds that inhabit the region. The grape spirit would be shipped out of this port, and just as whiskies coming out of the port in Bourbon county Kentucky became known as Bourbon, the spirit coming out of Pisco took on the name of that port as well. Another story has it that before the town of Pisco was named, the people of this area were known as “piskos” (perhaps also being derived from the birds), and one of their many products was a form of storage vessel, which also became known as a “pisko”, and one of the most common things to store in these vessels, was the local fire-water, which eventually became known as “pisko” as well.
I’ve had a variety of Pisco’s from both Chile and Peru, and overall, I have found the Peruvian Pisco (with one notable exception) to be of significantly higher quality and character than the ones from Chile. So while I won’t definitively pronounce either country as being the true thrown of Pisco, I will say that Peru has shown itself in my mind to be the premium producer.
In Peru and Chile, one of the most popular cocktails made with Pisco is the Pisco Sour (which we’ve already covered). There is another famous Pisco drink, this one however hales from America, and specifically from San Francisco.
For ships to travel to San Francisco with supplies and passengers, it was necessary for them to take the long way around, by going down the coast of eastern South America, and then back up the west coast and on up to the busy San Francisco port. During this trip they would often pick up supplies and products to deliver to San Francisco. One of their ports of call was at Pisco, and one of the products they would pick up there was Pisco, stored in the earthenware containers of the area.
Pisco first started arriving in San Francisco in the 1830’s, and was relatively popular during the subsequent gold rush of 1849. “The Bank Exchange & Billiard Saloon” opened in 1853, where the Transamerica tower is located now, and Pisco was one of the products that they served there, and were well known for. A variety of drinks would be served, some of them taking the form of what would have been called a punch. In 1893, Duncan Nicol took ownership of the saloon, and reputedly created the recipe for a drink he referred to as the “Pisco Punch”. The recipe for this drink was a tightly held secret, and while various people would attempt to recreate this drink, they could usually only come close, but would never quite duplicate it. Even after the closing of the Bank Exchange in 1919 due to American Prohibition, the recipe was never revealed. Duncan Nicol died in 1926 at the age of 72, presumably taking the recipe with him.
A Mr. William Bronson one day encountered some correspondences which fortunately appear to indicate that this was not the case. There happens to have been a John Lannes, who was the manager of the Bank Exchange during its final years. And as such, he was privy to the recipe, and after many years finally passed it on. The details of this are published in “Secrets of Pisco Punch Revealed”, by William Bronson, and published by the California History Society. I won’t repeat the minutia of the issues involved, but here is the recipe as it was discovered:
1. Take a fresh pineapple. Cut it in squares about 1 by 1.5 inches. Put these squares of fresh pineapple in a bowl of gum syrup to soak overnight. That serves the double purpose of flavoring the gum syrup with the pineapple and soaking the pineapple, both of which are used afterwards in the Pisco Punch,
2. In the morning mix in a big bowl the following: l/2 PINT (8 OZ.) OF THE GUM SYRUP, PINEAPPLE FLAVORED AS ABOVE 1 PINT (16 OZ.) DISTILLED WATER 3h PINT (10 OZ.) LEMON JUICE 1 BOTTLE (24 OZ.) PERUVIAN PISCO BRANDY
Serve very cold but be careful not to keep the ice in too long because of dilution. Use 3 or 4 oz. punch glasses. Put one of the above squares of pineapple in each glass. Lemon juice or gum syrup may be added to taste.
Mr. Bronson dutifully went about re-creating this recipe, after taking great pains to acquire some proper Peruvian Pisco. He notes that the results were not as spectacular as he had expected. Eventually he tries again, only this time making his own gum syrup, as opposed to simply using a dusty old bottle he had encountered somewhere. The recipe he used was:
Crush one pound- of gum arabic (if not already in crystal form), and soak for 24 hours in a pint of distilled water. (Gum arabic can be purchased at some confectionery supply houses and health food stores.) Add the gum arabic solution to a syrup made of four pounds of sugar and one quart of water boiled to 220 degrees Farenheit. As the mixture continues to boil, skim off impurities and then let it cool to room temperature. Filter through cheese cloth and store in bottles.
When using this in his Pisco Punch, he remarks that the results as:
It was smooth and good. It was fragrant, seductive and delicate. My wife has asked me not to drink it again.
The difference between what I tasted when I first made it and what was served that day was not a difference in flavor, but in texture and bite. I am convinced that the mystery ingredient in Pisco Punch is nothing more than gum arabic, and that it works in some way to take all the rough edges off the Peruvian brandy and perhaps alter the rate of absorbtion or metabolism of the alcohol in it.
So if you’re feeling a little experimental, perhaps you may want to give this recipe a try yourself and see if you too can discover the benefits of this wonderful elixir.
Great article, Robert!
Little worried about experimenting with it after reading this quote, “It was smooth and good. It was fragrant, seductive and delicate. My wife has asked me not to drink it again.”
My wife has occasionally questioned my choice in alcoholic beverages; but, you do wonder what happened here!
What was the notable exception to the higher quality of Peruvian Pisco?