Aussie Pisco Chilcano Winner

Rebecca Varidel
20th Feb 2021

Pisco is much more than just Pisco Sour (and I've drunk a few of those, let me tell you).

Yes. Correct. Pisco is also used to make a Pisco Punch, a Pisco Mule and a Pisco Chilcano. Or so I now know!

Although I've seen the Peruvian spirit on bar lists, I'm only just learning that Pisco is actually a fine grape spirit and more. In fact, Pisco is not just the port, the river, the liquor, and the earthenware pitcher. The origin of the name is the Quecha word pisku, which means bird and was coined by the Inca Pachacutec when he arrived at port around 1450 during the Inca conquest of the coast.

To help us all appreciate Pisco more, the Peru Trade Commission hosted the Aussie Pisco Chilcano Championships.

During the week I tried out the winning cocktail The Queensland Yacht Club, shake shake shaking via Instagram LIVE with winning Sydney bartender Alicia Clarke of Double Deuce Lounge crowned the winner.

The Queensland Yacht Club

"A classic Chilcano is perfect for warm summer days. It's refreshing and delicious. Being in the middle of Sydney summer currently, I wanted to make something that was just as seasonally appropriate but with a subtle Australian twist. Adding a beautiful tropical fruit element, with the mango and pineapple cordial, it freshens the drink up without making it overly sweet, and personally transports me to a beach or a park on a wonderfully sunny January day. Using the Stones Ginger Wine also keeps the element of the Chilcano present, but in an inherently Australian alternative" Alicia explained.

Ingredients:
45ml Barsol Quebranta Pisco (or any Pisco as available)
25ml Queensland mango and pineapple cordial (you can make this from fresh fruit)
10ml Stone's Ginger Wine
5ml sugar syrup (50/50 sugar/water)

Method:
Add all the ingredients to a tin, and shake hard. Single strain into a frozeen coupe and garnish with a pineapple leaf.

Now it's Saturday night, and I'm making a round of cocktails for friends. You can see my tipsy efforts shaking The Queensland Yacht Club at my Sydney home on TikTok.

Appellation

In 2005 Peru registered Pisco as an Appellation of Origin with the World Intellectual Property. In 2013, the European Commission in Brussells allowed Peru to register Pisco as a geographic location.

For a Pisco brand to carry the Appellation of Origin it must comply with these requirements:
- specific geographic characteristics
- specific customs and traditions
- freshly fermented
- direct and continuous distillation production
- an alcohol by volume content of between 38% and 48%
- resting period of 3 month minimum