International Pisco Sour Day

Every year, Peruvians has a most popular cocktail celebration named International Pisco Sour Day on the first Saturday of February.

History of International Pisco Sour Day

Pisco Sour is not only a part of Peruvian culture, the pride and joy of every Peruvian, but it has officially become a National Cultural Nation. Every bar and restaurant in Peru serves it, and Peruvians drink Pisco Sour whenever there's something to celebrate, when gathering with friends, or to greet strangers and foreigners.

Based on National Pisco Sour Day, International Pisco Sour Day was established as an official government holiday in Peru in 2003 to honor the pisco sour. The drink's name is derived from its base alcohol, pisco. In the sixteenth century, aguardiente from fermented grapes are made by Spanish settlers. This wine has been called pisco since at least 1764, named after the Peruvian port it was shipped out of. The starting name used for aguardiente is also produced in Chile.

Both Peru and Chile claim sour pisco as their national drink and claim the pisco as their own. Although evidence suggests the drink was created in Peru, the debate over the drink's origins persists and is part of the controversy between the two countries. The Peruvian version of the drink is flavored with Peruvian pisco, lime juice, syrup, egg whites, bittersweet Angostura and ice. The Chilean version uses Chilean lemon pisco and pica, but doesn't use bitters or egg whites.

This drink was invented in the early 1920s in Lima, Peru, by American bartender Victor Vaughen Morris, who developed it as a variation of sour whiskey. He opened Morris' Bar in Lima in 1916, and it was frequented by the Peruvian elite and English-speaking expats. The first mention of this drink appeared in the September 1920 issue of the Peruvian magazine Hogar. A 1921 magazine named Morris as its inventor, and an advertisement for the drink appeared in a newspaper in Valparaiso, Chile, in 1924. The drink took off in the early 1920s. In July 1924, Mario Bruiget started serving at Morris', and added egg whites and Angostura bitters to the drink, making it what it is today.

The drink began to spread after Morris closed his bar in 1929; bartenders have continued to work elsewhere and bring their recipes with them. It arrived in California in the 1930s, being found as far north of San Francisco. By the 1960s, it could be found in New York. It began to be served by luxury hotels in Lima, Peru, in the 1940s. Today it is known around the world, making it suitable to be celebrated with an international holiday.

How to celebrate International Pisco Sour Day

Drink a glass of pisco sour to celebrate the day! There are a few ways you can do it:

Peruvian version.

Chilean version — to make it more realistic, use Pica lime.

International Bartender Association Edition.

Soursop Pisco pairs very well with ceviche, a popular Peruvian dish, so it could also be a good match for this dish. Other seafood dishes also go well with drinks.

Below are simple recipe for you to enjoy a glass of Pisco Sour:

6 cups of pisco

3 cl freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 cl Sugar syrup

2 cl egg whites

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain finely into an ice glass. Garnish with three drops of bitter armargo. Lie back and enjoy the taste of summer!