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Want to cause a ruckus? Ask a bunch of Latin American drinkers who invented the pisco sour. Depending on who you talk to, the origins of this cocktail are ambiguous—and hotly debated. Americans will tell you that this delightful sour drink was invented by one of their own – Victor Morris, a bartender who started it in the United States in the 1910s. Air, opened a boogie bar in Lima, Peru. Chileans—who are, you guessed it, pisco aficionados—attribute its origins to a man named Elliot Stubb, who is said to have A British flight attendant invented the drink in 1872 in the Chilean port city of Iquique (then part of Peru). Neighboring Peruvians will tell you that, quite simply, it doesn’t matter who invented it, but where; this Creole blend was born in Peru, and why should we spend our time arguing about when we can drink it? ? “That’s true,” says Javier Laos, bar manager at London’s Pachamama. “Peruvians love pisco.” So Laos created a cocktail that pays homage to the drink, evoking both memories of his sunny Peruvian youth and his love of traditional English gardens. By fusing rhubarb-infused pisco, luscious peach liqueur and his own invention of the liqueur-infused latafia, Laos wanted to bring a touch of the exotic to gray London. “In Peru, we love pisco sours,” he says. “We also love chilcano de pisco – our interpretation of a Moscow mule – infused with passion fruit, ginger and cayenne pepper. My take on a classic sour is a sweetness from peach liqueur mixed with rhubarb. The acidity matches perfectly and it’s a perfect summer cocktail. It’s fruity, refreshing and reminds me of home.”
Mom’s Rhubarb Soda: (serves 2)
raw material
60ml rhubarb pisco 20ml syrup 30ml lemon juice 20ml peach liqueur chicha latafia (for adding toppings) 30ml soda water
chicha wine latafia
600 ml red wine 4 tablespoons caster sugar, peeled 1/2 grapefruit 1/4 pineapple, sliced 1 cinnamon stick a handful of purple corn kernels hot water
Serve
Chilled wine glass ice cubes crushed ice grapefruit zest for eating edible flowers for eating
shopping list
“I highly recommend the Peruvian Quebranta Pisco – it’s more like a white spirit like gin or vodka. We use the BarSol Quebranta Pisco. You can use the Peruvian Italian Pisco from their range as it has more of aromatic qualities. Chilean wines have more barrel-aged flavor, and if you like to add more rhubarb flavor, swap out the peach liqueur for Chase Rhubarb Liqueur.”
I
nstruct
- Make the chicha latafia five days before you want to enjoy the cocktail. Place the red wine, sugar, grapefruit zest, pineapple, cinnamon, corn and water into a heatproof bowl and stir to combine. Once it’s completely cooled, cover tightly and place in the refrigerator to soak for five days.
- The day before serving, pour 200 ml of pisco into a container and add a sprig of rhubarb. Seal and let sit overnight.
- Enjoy the day of, adding some ice cubes to a chilled wine glass.
- Add the rhubarb-infused pisco, syrup, lemon juice, and peach liqueur to a cocktail shaker and shake until well combined.
- Pour into wine glasses and add a handful of crushed ice to the top of each drink.
- Add a glass of good grapefruit wine to each cocktail and garnish with grapefruit peel and edible flowers.
From delicious to stratosphere
“For a really luxurious touch, and more punch, use prosecco instead of soda water.”
