Pisco Sour Photo: Manchamanteles / Promperú

On October 18th, 2007, the National Institute of Culture (INC) of Peru declared the Pisco Sour cultural heritage of the nation based on UNESCO’s Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Although pisco is produced since the late 16th Century in Peru, the Pisco Sour cocktail appeared in Peru in the 1920s, in “Bar Morris”, located in Calle Boza 847, in Jirón de la Unión, Downtown Lima. Pisco Sour was served as a new drink inspired in whisky sour. It was prepared there by Peruvian barmen Alfonso Bregoye, Graciano Cabrera and Alberto Mezarina. Similarly, Jose Antonio Schiaffino’s "El Origen del Pisco Sour" (“Origin’s of Pisco Sour”), says that the inventor of the recipe was Victor V. Morris, born in California and owner of Bar Morris. The bar was inaugurated in 1915 and closed in 1933.

This drink was created complementing the English sour tradition with several other ingredients that, together, balance the acid taste of Peruvian lime. Since then, thanks to its flavor, this aperitif has spread not only in Peru, but also in the countries it reached through Peruvian restaurants opened there.

“Lima, la Ciudad de los Virreyes” (“Lima, the City of Viceroys”), a guide of Lima between years 1928 and 1929, by Cipriano Lagos, includes Bar Morris, mentioning Pisco Sour as one of its specialties:

Morris Vctor V. - « Morris Bar »
Imports all types of wines, liquors, beers, etc., having a select stock of the best brands. This bar was made famous by its exquisite preparation of Pisco Sour and Whisky Sour cocktails, made of authentic liquors.
Address: Lima, Calle de Boza No. 847. Telephone No. 2235.

Lagos, Cipriano A.: "Lima, la Ciudad de los Virreyes", p. 552

The most prestigious hotels of those times followed Bar Morris’s example, and so Hotel Maury, located in the crossing of Jiron Ucayali and Jiron Carabaya, and Hotel Bolivar, in Plaza San Martin crossing with Avenida Colmena, begin to offer Pisco Sour. Possibly, Bar Morris’s barmen took the recipe with them when the bar closed. In turn, Hotel Maury claims the creation of the current pisco sour recipe as its own.

On the other hand, Luciano Revoredo, following Guillermo Toro Lira’s hypothesis that the origin of pisco may be earlier to Bar Morris, mentions in his work a reference found in El Mercurio Peruano on the preparation of pisco with lime in the 18th Century in Lima as a consequence of the ban on eau-de-vie sales due to the fights it caused near the Acho Bullring. The newspaper says that a drink called punch was created; it was sold by slaves and prepared with pisco and lime. According to Revoredo, it may be precedent to pisco punch.

In 2003, the Peruvian Government issued a decree to encourage pisco consumption both locally and internationally. Accordingly, the budget for liquor expenses of diplomatic and consular missions, and representative missions before international organizations, must provide a fifty percent of the amount for purchasing pisco, and the remaining fifty percent for other liquors. The enthusiasm this official measure generated among local pisco producers caused a marked increase in production. Likewise, from then on, official invitation cards will not mention the classical “welcoming cocktail” or “welcoming wine”, but “welcoming pisco” instead.

Through Ministerial Resolution 161-2004-PRODUCE, dated April 22nd, 2004, the first Saturday of February was declared the Pisco Sour Day throughout the country, replacing the previous regulation that defined such day as February 8th.

Classic Pisco Sour recipe

The classic Peruvian recipe is prepared with Quebranta pisco. The ingredients are: 3 ounces of pisco, 1 ounce of very green small limes (as acid flavor is required, and smaller limes are more acid), 1 ounce of cane syrup, 1 egg white, 6 ice cubes, and 1 or 2 drops of Angostura bitter. Shake the mix in a cocktail shaker until the ingredients combine.

If a blender is used, mix all the ingredients for one minute, except the egg white. Add the egg white with the blender off, and mix for five more seconds.

This recipe tastes better if a pure pisco and an aromatic pisco are combined.