Top 10 out of 100 - #10 The Pisco Sour

As a favor for stealing one of her best employees away from her on detail, a friend asked that I follow up on my Anvil 100 cocktail effort with a ranking of my top 10 cocktails from that list. As I mentioned before, there were definitely a number of cocktails on that list that I would consider marginally enjoyable, at best (I'm looking at you, Ramos Gin Fizz), but there were far more I thought were pretty darned tasty. So coming up with my favorite ten was not an easy task. Plus, I had to take into account my own preferences (I am a whisky / whiskey fan first, with gin a very close second), making sure that I wasn't skewing the results based on what I was predisposed to like in the first place. There are many cocktails that don't appear on this list which I love (Whiskey Sour, where are you??), but I figured that I would keep it simple and just work with the ones on the List.

So these will be the 10 I enjoyed making and drinking the most from the list, number one being my favorite (duh). Starting with Number 10:

#10 The Pisco Sour

Pisco isn't something I had any personal exposure to before starting The List - I knew it came from the land of llamas, and I like llamas, so no worries there. Since I am a big fan of Whiskey Sours, this was a cocktail I was eager to try. It surely did not disappoint. Pisco is Peruvian or Chilean grape eau de vie, one which is typically not wood aged, and has a unique tang to it - not quite citrusy, but one which hits you a little bit on the tart sensing part of your tongue. Mixed with the sour component, pisco's unique tang really adds to the complexity of the drink (in a way I don't think whiskey does quite as well). And then adding the egg white brings the whole cocktail together - sweet, sour, creamy, tart, with a touch of bitterness added by the bitters.

Definitely one I will go back to. If you wear one of those cute little Peruvian hats while drinking one, all the better - and it may lead to singing a short ditty about transporting llamas to places of higher education, and what could be wrong with that?

Pisco Sour

2oz pisco

1oz lime juice

.5oz simple syrup (I used agave syrup)

an egg white

single drop of Angostura bitters

Shake HARD with ice to build up the froth from the egg. Strain into a chilled rocks glass, add drop of bitters on top.

Pisco Sour - v.Dos

So having failed (relatively speaking) at my first attempt at making a Pisco Sour, I decided to try the Wikipedia version of the recipe, which called for limes, egg whites, bitters, and simple syrup in addition to the pisco. I utilized the agave nectar in place of the simple syrup because I was just too lazy to make some real simple syrup (and I had a couple of beers after work, so I wasn't in the prepping mood). Knowing I had the right ingredients, I tried again at making a decent example of this drink.

This time I think I succeeded. The egg white was the real difference - without that, I don't think you have a drink anywhere near as good. I had never really used egg whites in drinks before - both because of a concern about killing myself (highly over dramatized - if you have fresh eggs, there is almost no chance of any type of botulism issue), and because I wasn't really looking to mix up cocktails that called for eggs most of the time anyway. But the egg white not only gives you a nice frothy head on the drink, but it gives the drink a creamy, velvety texture definitely not present without it. It's a texture really foreign to citrusy cocktails normally, and that makes it even better. The key is to really shake the hell out of it - straining it into the glass brings the froth level down some, so you want to be sure to build up a lot in the shaker to ensure a good amount makes it into the final product.

Pisco Sour

2 parts pisco
1 part lime juice
1 part simple syrup (agave nectar)
1 egg white
bitters (Angostura, or home made)

Add ice to a Boston shaker. Add pisco, lime juice, agave nectar, and egg white. Shake vigorously for 20 seconds. Strain into an old fashioned glass. Add two to three drops of bitters to top.