Tag Archives: brandy

Pisco Cocktails

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Time to add a new spirit to your liquor cabinet! Pisco is a clear grape-based brandy from Peru. It’s smooth, earthy, and mild, which makes it great for shaking up exciting cocktails. So grab a bottle of pisco, and give these a try.

Pisco Sour ~ This is the quintessential pisco cocktail. It’s a simple cocktail of pisco, simple syrup, and lemon juice but topped off with a smooth egg white foam and bitters for a lovely texture and aromatic note.

Pisco Punch ~ Add a little pineapple to your pisco! This 19th century recipe originates from San Francisco, where pisco really hit it big. It’s lightly sweet and silky with just the right bit of oomph.

El Dorado ~ I can’t say no to a good champagne cocktail, and this one made with pisco and apricot brandy sounds like a winner.

Final Rhuse ~ Rhubarb, lime, and Yellow Chartreuse turn pisco into a complex drink that plays with herbal flavors.

Dhaniya Nimbu ~ This is more of an exotically spiced drink, with coriander nectar and cilantro. Pair it with some Peruvian food!

Brandy Alexander

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The Brandy Alexander is a sweet and creamy treat that’s perfect for the holidays. For a twist, you can do what they did during Prohibition and make it with genever instead of brandy.

Brandy Alexander

1 ounce brandy
1 ounce creme de cacao
2 ounces heavy cream

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake vigorously for about 30 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Photo by Jackson Stakeman

Pisco Punch

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Pisco, a clear grape-based brandy, was a popular ingredient in many San Francisco cocktails during the late 19th century, most famously Pisco Punch—created by the Bank Exchange Saloon.

Since the owner of the saloon took the recipe with him to his grave, there are many variations on this cocktail floating around out there. If you want to be authentic, you should use gomme syrup—a rich simple syrup made with gum arabic that adds a silky texture and prevents sugars from crystalizing. Most people just aren’t going to bother to hunt for gum arabic or commercial gomme syrup, so I skip it in my recipe.

With or without the gomme syrup, this cocktail is a winner! It’s bright and festive but also has depth and just the right balance between sweet and dry. Try it for party time … or any time.

Pisco Punch

(This recipe is for 1 serving. Scale up to make more.)

2 ounces pisco
3/4 ounce pineapple-infused rich syrup*
3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice

Place a chilled pineapple chunk you saved from the syrup at the bottom of a coupe, punch cup or rocks glass. Shake the pisco, syrup and lemon with ice in a cocktail shaker, then strain into the glass that has the pineapple chunk in it.

*Pineapple-Infused Rich Syrup

2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1/2 pineapple, cored and sliced into chunks

Bring the sugar and water to a boil. Let simmer for three minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Place the pineapple chunks in a large bowl and pour the cooled syrup over them. Cover and let it steep and chill overnight in the refrigerator. Remove the pineapple chunks and save them to serve with the punch. (This recipe makes 2 cups, so you’ll use a quarter of a pineapple per cup of syrup.)

Photo by Jackson Stakeman