Pisco Sour

  • 75 ml good Peruvian pisco, e.g. Campo de Encanto or BarSol
  • 30 ml freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 15 ml 2:1 simple syrup
  • 15 ml pasteurised egg white or the white of a fresh egg
  • Amargo Chuncho bitters, if you can find it. Angostura if not

Dry shake (without ice) everything, bar the bitters. Add ice and vigorously shake again. The longer and harder you shake, the foamier it will be so give it some welly. Strain into a chilled Nick & Nora glass. Neatly float 3 drops of bitters onto the foam. If you wish, take a cocktail stick and extend streaks from these to make stars.

Pisco is a South American spirit, derived from the Quebranta, or a few other specified grapes, therefore technically a brandy. Chile and Peru, the sole source, both vigorously claim to be the originators, though the town of Pisco in Peru may offer us a clue.

Though the liquor has undeniably been around since 17C, Pisco Sour was indisputably created in the 1920s by American Victor Morris. Do we really care? It is one of the classics. Shake on.