🇵🇪 Pisco Sour

Pisco, fresh lime, egg white, and Angostura bitters on the foam — South America's great national cocktail.

5 min
Serves 1
Shaken
Coupe
Ingredients
  • 2 oz Pisco (Peruvian or Chilean — Portón, Barsol, or Control C)
  • ¾ oz Fresh lime juice
  • ¾ oz Simple syrup
  • 1 Egg white
  • 2–3 drops Angostura bitters (for the foam decoration)
Method
  1. 1
    Dry shakeAdd pisco, lime, simple syrup, and egg white to a shaker WITHOUT ice. Shake hard for 15 seconds to emulsify the egg white and build the foam.
  2. 2
    Add ice, shake againAdd ice and shake again vigorously for 12 seconds.
  3. 3
    Strain into coupeStrain into a chilled coupe. The foam should be thick, white, and stable.
  4. 4
    Decorate the foamDrop 2–3 drops of Angostura bitters onto the foam surface. Use a cocktail pick or straw to drag them into a decorative pattern — the bitters sit on the foam and do not sink.
  5. 5
    Serve immediatelyThe foam is best when fresh.

Peru vs. Chile: The Pisco War

The Pisco Sour was created around 1920 by Victor Vaughen Morris, an American bartender who opened Morris's Bar in Lima, Peru. His barman, Mario Bruiget, later perfected the recipe with egg white and bitters. Both Peru and Chile claim pisco as their national spirit and the cocktail as their national drink — this is a serious diplomatic dispute, not a bar argument.

Peruvian pisco (from Quebranta, Italia, Torontel, or Albilla grapes) is different from Chilean pisco (often aged in barrels). Peruvian is the traditional choice for a Pisco Sour and tends to be unaged, with a distinctive grape character. Chilean tends to be smoother and sometimes sweeter. Both work; both Peruvians and Chileans will tell you only their version is correct.

Variations

🌿 Maracuyá Sour (Passion Fruit)

Add 1 oz passion fruit purée alongside the lime. Replace simple syrup with passion fruit syrup. The most popular Pisco Sour variation in Lima.

🍊 Chilcano

Replace the egg white and sour elements with 4 oz ginger ale and build over ice in a highball. The simpler Peruvian 'everyday' pisco drink.

🫐 Pisco Sour with Chicha

Add a splash of chicha morada (purple corn drink from Peru). The corn adds earthiness and colour. Very traditional.

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