Pisco Sour

The last time I had had a Pisco Sour was years ago at a neighbor’s while living in the Haight-Ashbury. Peruvian brandy and egg white sounded like a colorful hangover, but I accepted one anyway. I remember liking it but very little else about it. While I’ve learned to appreciate drinks that contain egg white, I tend to procrastinate when it comes to making them because I just don’t eat many eggs at home. When I buy them, they sit there until my housemate finally gets the urge to make an omelette. The last few eggs in the house got so old we had to toss them.

But at the start of the weekend, I was bound and determined to make at least one classic egg white drink, having looked at the recipes for so long, and settled on the Pisco Sour.

If I had limited experience with egg drinks, I had even less with Pisco. My local shop had two by De La Motta. The guy behind me in line said he used the Uvina for Pisco Sours, so I went with that. Thanks, guy.

Then I had to decide on a recipe. Lemon or lime? I sort of remembered my neighbor using lime, and she had learned about Pisco Sours in South America. As for the ratio of tart to sweet, I had to start somewhere, so I went with Gary Regan’s proportion in The Joy of Mixology of an ounce of juice to half an ounce of simple syrup. And since I was making my housemate a drink as well, one egg white for two drinks seemed fine.

The flavor was very light and elegant. The ingredients suggested it would seem more sour and boozy, but housemate and I agreed that it was a very subtle beverage.



For two drinks:

4 oz pisco
2 oz lime juice
1 oz simple syrup
1 egg white
several drops Angostura bitters for garnish

In a Boston shaker, combine pisco, lime juice, syrup and egg white, and shake with ice. (I decided to “dry shake” the drink first, that is, agitate it some without the ice to help manage blending the egg, then add the ice and shake it until cold.) Strain into an old-fashioned or sour glasses. Garnish with several dots of bitters in the center of the foam.