You Gotta buy this Book!

Kudos to author Greg Dicum and the folks at ClearGrape, Shelley Alger and Tim Childs for publishing a fabulous new book on Pisco titled "The Pisco Book". (It's available for sale at Amazon.com, but hurry, there are only 18 copies left!)

Folks, this is the new definitive source on the subject of Pisco. Whether you're in the cocktail community or just love a good story, you'll enjoy this read. If you’ve ever wondered what the difference is between a falca and an alembique, where the name Pisco really came from, or the Peruvian/Japanese origins of ceviche, you’ll find the answers here.

In our travels around the country to mixology bars and conversations with bartenders, cocktail writers and aficionados, we’re seeing the nascence of an emerging trend. People are looking for something new and different from vodka, tequila and rum. And Pisco clearly (no pun intended) fills the bill.

There are some great Pisco recipes in the book, several created and contributed by Pisco Maestro Johnny Schuler, Jim Meehan of PDT, Dus Dushan Zarick of Macao Trading Co. and a few that are on our “we gotta try these next” list.

Adventures with Pisco

Our jefes at Brand Action Team, Steve Raye and Jeff Grindrod, recently ventured to Peru on a trip centrally focused around Pisco.

Unfamiliar with the product? Pisco is the native spirit of Peru (although Chile will put up a good fight about it, but that's another story for another day...) and has continued to remain a prevalent figure in cocktail culture. The ever-popular Pisco Sour is a frothy treat containing pisco, lemon or lime juice, egg whites, simple syrup and bitters (regional selections would be Amargo bitters, although Angostura should work just fine as well).

Steve did a nice recap on his BATBlog, detailing his adventures in Peru's Ica Valley. Read about it by clicking here.

¡Salud!

TOTC Seminars and Samples

I finally made it to a seminar…Latino Libations presented by Tony Abou-Ganim. Always an entertaining presentation, Tony was helped by some fortuitous finds in the audience that almost upstaged the master. Aided by the able talents of Diego Loret de Mola of BarSol Pisco. Tony gave an informative history lesson and current take on Cachaça and Caipirinhas, Pisco and Pisco Sours, Rum and Mojitos. I recognized someone in the audience and stopped to say hi and it turned out to be Stacey Smith, Beverage Director of Pappas Restaurants in Houston whom I shared a great dinner with at the Sante’ Restaurant Symposium last year. Also attending the seminar were Herbie Loebl of Pisco Montesierpe Jean Francois Bonneté of Mystique Brands and Michael Trujillo, New Mexico mixologist for SWS.Next it was downstairs to the Cocktail hour with about 30 stations serving some incredibly diverse cocktail creations. Frankly though, I didn’t like many of them. It struck me as though everyone erred on the side of “creativity” in a palette of flavors I’m not really in love with… a lot with hot peppers, unique combinations of spices and fruits, interpretations of classics substituting tequila for rum or in one case a Brandy Alexander made with Absinthe that quite frankly, smelled like mildew! We did get to meet Natalie Bovis-Nelson aka The Liquid Muse and enjoyed her creation the Nolita Heat.