Pisco

Pisco is the name used for two different varieties of brandy distilled from grape produced in certain regions of Peru and Chile. A spirit using that name was first produced in the 16th century in the Province of Pisco (Peru), and later introduced in other regions and countries. It is served straight or as a cocktail, most notably as Pisco sour in Peru.

Varieties

Peruvian Pisco

Peruvian pisco is made mostly from Quebranta or Italia grapes. Peruvian regulations do not allow the addition of any substance during distillation. Based on the production process involved, it is further classified as:

• Pure Pisco, made from a single variety of grape (no blending allowed).
  :*Green Must Pisco, distilled from partially fermented and fresh must.
  :*Pisco Acholado, blended from the must of several varieties of grape, it is stronger and has higher proof.

• Fragrant: Albila, Italia, Muscat or Torontel.
  :*Non fragrant: Mollar, Common Black, Quebranta or Uvina.
  

  Chilean Pisco

Etymology

The origins of the word pisco can be traced to pre-colonial Peru. In the quechua language, the birds that inhabited the valleys of the Ica region were called pisco, pisku, phishgo, pichiu or pisccu (pisqu' in modern quechua alphabet).

The valley that was later to be named Pisco was settled at least two millennia ago by people that developed a great mastery of pottery. During the Inca Empire they were to become known as piskos. One of the main products they provided were the containers used to store beverages. These containers were also to known as piskos. The first grape brandy to be produced was stored in piskos, and as time went by, the beverage came to be known by the name given to its container.

History

The first vineyards in the Viceroyalty of Peru were planted in the fertile costal valleys of Peru shortly after the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadores. The Marquis Francisco de Caravantes was the first to import grapes, bringing them from the Canary Islands in 1553. Even though Spain imposed many restrictions on wine production and commerce, the wine-making industry developed rapidly, mainly in the Corregimiento of Ica.

The oldest written historical record of grape brandy production in Peru dates to 1613. It is the will of a resident of Ica named Pedro Manuel the Greek. In it he itemizes his wordly goods, including 30 containers of grape brandy, one barrel of the same spirit, a large copper pot and all of the utensils needed to produce Pisco.

Pisco production grew rapidly, and the Pacific Ocean Peruvian port also called Pisco prospered due to increased exports to all of the Spanish Colonies.

In 1931, the Chilean government, with the Decreto con Fuerza de Ley 181, defines as Pisco the brandy produced in the III and IV Region. In 1936, the Decreto Ley 5.798 changed the name of the town La Unión to Pisco Elqui in an attempt to create some legitimacy in its trade dispute with Peru over who had the right to use the name Pisco. However, as of 2005, the legitimate rights of Peru over the use of the name Pisco have been formally declared by rulings in Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Dominican Republic and Venezuela.

External Links

• Pisco Liquer Dispute between Chile and Peru
• PiscoesPeru.com
• Pisco Ica valley
• Pisco en Peru
• Chile's Elqui valley
• Pisco information, Peru
• Pisco Weblog