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The pisco sour is one of the great classic cocktails! The magic meld of pisco and lime in this Peruvian drink gives it a flavor that’s like none other.

Pisco sour
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There’s truly no drink like the classic pisco sour! This sour cocktail from Peru is popular for a reason: it’s just that good. Alex and I have made all the sour cocktails: the famous whiskey sour, nutty amaretto sour, the two-toned New York sour, and so many more.

But the Pisco sour holds a special place in our hearts. The way the pisco melds with the lime makes it bright, herbaceous, and distinctly magical. It’s simple to make this classic cocktail at home—we can’t wait for you to taste it!

What’s a pisco sour?

The pisco sour is a sour cocktail made with pisco liquor, a clear brandy made in Peru and Chile. Sours are defined as three parts: liquor, citrus, and sweetener. Classically sours were served with an egg white foam, which adds a frothy texture and creamy body to the drink.

The exact date the pisco sour was invented isn’t clear: some claim the first recipe was printed in a cocktail book in 1903 (source). But the most widely accepted theory is that the pisco sour was invented by American bartender Victor Morris in the 1920’s while he was living in Peru. It was inspired by the whiskey sour, but swaps in pisco for whiskey and lime for lemon. The ingredients in a pisco sour are:

  • Pisco
  • Lime juice
  • Simple syrup
  • Egg white
  • Angostura bitters, for the garnish

Why pisco is worth buying

Confession from your resident homemade cocktail experts. We procrastinated making the pisco sour for a long time. Why? It requires a special purchase: a bottle of pisco liquor. It’s not used in many of the other cocktails we make on the regular (like these). So we weren’t sure if it was worth it to spring for a bottle.

After trying this drink, here’s the verdict: for the adventurous home mixologist, pisco is absolutely worth it! If you love mixing cocktails at home, pisco has a unique flavor that can’t be replaced by anything else. The pisco sour is showy and perfect for entertaining: it tastes just like you ordered it at a fancy bar.

Where to find it? Pisco is a clear brandy made in Peru and Chile. Because of the popularity of this drink, it’s easy to find at your local liquor store.

Pisco sour

A “dry shake” makes the best egg white foam

Bartenders have added egg whites to cocktails since the 1860’s to add a frothy texture to the top and a creamy rich flavor to each sip. How to get the perfect foam? The best frothy egg white foam is achieved by doing a Dry Shake. You’ll use in lots of classic cocktail recipes like the Gin Fizz. Here’s how it works:

  • The first shake without ice lets the protein in the egg begin to form foam, instead of being diluted by the ice.
  • The second shake with ice cools the drink and strengthens the foam. Strain it into the glass and you’ll get a thick, white frothy layer.

How to make bitters designs

Once you’ve got that egg white foam, the last step is to shake some cocktail bitters on top! Bitters are small bottles of liquor infused with herbs and fruits that taste…well, bitter! They’re intended to be added into cocktails in 1 or 2 dashes to add complexity to the flavor. In the Pisco sour we used Angostura bitters, which are a popular and easy to find bottle.

It’s common with the Pisco sour that you’ll see bartenders make fancy designs using the bitters on the top of the foam. Here’s how to make the pattern you see here:

  • Gently shake 3 small dots on the top of the egg white foam.
  • Use a toothpick or stir stick to gently draw a line to connect them.
Pisco sour
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Pisco Sour

Pisco sour
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The Pisco sour is one of the great classic cocktails! The magic meld of pisco and lime in this Peruvian drink gives it a flavor that’s like none other.

  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 0 minutes
  • Total Time: 5 minutes
  • Yield: 1 drink 1x
  • Category: Drink
  • Method: Shaken
  • Cuisine: Cocktails
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 ounces (4 tablespoons) pisco
  • 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) lime juice
  • ½ ounce (1 tablespoon) simple syrup
  • 1 egg white
  • For the garnish: 3 dashes bitters

Instructions

  1. Add the pisco, lime juice, simple syrup and egg white to a cocktail shaker without ice. Shake for 15 seconds.
  2. Add the ice to the cocktail shaker. Shake again for 30 seconds.
  3. Strain the drink into a cocktail glass; the foam will collect at the top. Garnish with bitters on the foam.

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More sour cocktails

There is an entire cocktail family called sour cocktails. Within that are those that actually have the word “Sour” in the title. The Whiskey Sour, Amaretto SourBoston SourVodka SourTequila Sour and Gin Sour all have similar elements with the pisco sour: citrus, sweetener, and liquor.

About the authors

Alex & Sonja

Hi! We’re Alex & Sonja Overhiser, authors of the acclaimed cookbooks A Couple Cooks and Pretty Simple Cooking—and a real life couple who cooks together. We founded the A Couple Cooks website in 2010 to share seasonal recipes and the joy of home cooking. Now, we’ve got over 3,000 well-tested recipes, including Mediterranean diet, vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, smoothies, cocktails, and more!

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