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Happy Hour: Pisco Sour

YumSugar — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 14:00:46 -0700

The other night I found myself at Nopa, a San Francisco restaurant known for its great food and equally respectable drinks. My drink of choice was the pisco sour, the slightly sweet, tart, frothy lemon cocktail made with pisco, a regional South American brandy. This is a wonderful concoction and I'm excited to re-create it at home.If you don't own pisco, you can find it at a well-stocked liquor store or online. The pisco sour and its namesake spirit have been at the center of a centuries-old battle between Chile and Peru, with both countries claiming it their own.

Note that this recipe calls for Chilean pisco, which is sweeter, with slightly lower alcohol content than Peruvian pisco. If you substitute Peruvian pisco, increase the amount of simple syrup and lemon juice according to your taste. To get the recipe to this lovely Latin libation, read more.

Pisco Sour
From Epicurious; inspired by a cocktail consumed at Nopa

Ingredients

1 egg white
2 1/2 ounces Chilean Pisco Capel
1/2 ounce simple syrup
3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice
Angostura Bitters

Directions

In cocktail shaker filled with ice, combine egg white, Pisco, simple syrup, and lemon juice.
Cover, shake vigorously for 15 seconds, and strain into six-ounce cocktail glass.
Top with a few drops of bitters.

Makes 1.

Print recipe with images | without images

Definition: Pisco

partysugar — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 12:16:37 -0700

Pisco
A super potent brandy made from the distillation of Muscat grapes in Chile and Peru. Aged in special containers to prevent the liquor from absorbing either the color or flavor of the wood.

Must-Read: Market-Fresh Mixology

YumSugar — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 03:30:22 -0700

Regardless of whether or not we're in the midst of a food revolution, it's undeniable that over the last couple of years, cuisine highlighting fresh-picked produce has gained major ground. In fact, the principles of seasonality and slow food aren't just being applied to food. They're also key in what The New York Times calls the "farm-to-glass movement," where drinks are driven by produce at the peak of the season. If you aren't too familiar with the liquid locavore movement, one new book, Market-Fresh Mixology ($12.21), shows you the ropes. Learn whether it's worth seeking out when you read more.
Pros:

"Tool box" sidebar tells you what equipment you'll need to make each drink.
Introductory chapter primes you on tools of the trade, glassware, and essential bar ingredients.
Classic cocktail recipes include fun tidbits on the history of the cocktail.

Cons:

Some ingredients and garnishes - like gooseberries, juniper berries, and pumpkin liqueur - could potentially be hard to find.
Steps are listed in paragraph form rather than numbered.

Recipes: Depending on how experimental your palate is, some sippers - like the Carrot Chic, Spiced Beet Cocktail, and Fennel Cocktail - may be truly adventurous or a bit too exotic for you. Other eye-catching recipes:

Rhubarb Strawberry Collins
Fresh Strawberry Daiquiri
Kiwi Champagne
Fresh Tomato Bloody Mary
Homemade Cocktail Onions
Papaya Pisco Sour
Blueberry Lavender Mojito

Imagery: Most of the cocktails included in the book are accompanied by vivid, crisp photos.

Overall Rating: If you like to make cocktails at home and appreciate the farm-to-table philosophy, then this book would be right up your alley.

View 4 Photos ›

Talking Mixology With Dale DeGroff

partysugar — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 12:30:52 -0800

Last week I had the wonderful opportunity to sit down with Dale DeGroff. If you've never heard of DeGroff, you'll be surprised to know that he has changed your life. Remember that basil gimlet you enjoyed at the bar last week? You can thank Dale for that. Or what about that perfectly poured martini? Dale's responsible for that, too. Known to food insiders as the King of Cocktails, Dale DeGroff is single-handedly responsible for the renaissance of classic cocktails. Back in 1980s New York, at a time when the majority of bars served drinks made from overly-sweet mixes, Dale was mixing drinks with fresh, seasonal, local ingredients and creating cocktails based on preprohibition recipes. To find out what the master has to say about cocktail trends and to see who he thinks is the best bartender in America today, read more.

Dale was in San Francisco to promote his new book The Essential Cocktail and to run the Pernod Ricard mixology course for bartenders, BarSmarts.

PartySugar: What do you consider yourself? A bartender, bar chef, mixologist?
Dale DeGroff: Retired. Now I am a teacher and an author.

PS: What do you consider your signature drink?
DD: The Ritz cocktail, which was named in tribute to the classic champagne cocktail and featured in Playboy magazine. The whiskey smash, which is currently on menus from London to Australia. Bobby Flay serves it at his restaurants. That one was based on a 19th-century drink, but I changed the name. The Fitzgerald is another one.

PS: What qualities make a good bartender?
DD: Speed, accuracy, friendliness, a certain passion and love affair with life. You have to be confident and a chameleon, and you have to love it.

PS: Who are the best bartenders in America?
DD: The list is long in terms of exclusivity. There's lots of guys who can make amazing, culinary drinks, but Doug at PJ Clarks, handles that crowd with such ease, speed, and accuracy. That bar is packed every night and he makes a good cocktail. He doesn't do special cocktails, but he could learn everything those other guys do in exactly a month.

PS: What's your ultimate hangover remedy?
DD: Don't start drinking or don't stop drinking. Aspirin. Nothing beats a milkshake and a hamburger. Some people say soaking your feet in oatmeal works.

PS: What's the next big thing? In cocktails and spirits?
DD: We are in the middle of the next big thing! The overall idea is that we've taken the cocktail out of the beverage category and turned it into something culinary. Bartenders have to look at their bars like a chef would look at his kitchen. They are looking at their ingredients like a chef looks at his ingredients. You've got to go to the cupboard, go to Whole Foods and buy what is fresh and in season. I'm really into pepper jelly, spices, and herbs. Pisco is going to be big. Anything from South America really. Brown liquors are on the rise. The geeky bartenders are making drinks with bourbon and rye. Rhum agricole. Tequila, anything Latin really. Sherry is popping up in cocktails everywhere.

PS: What's your advice to the home mixologist?
DD: Buy the best, freshest ingredients you can afford from the liquor down to the mint. Follow recipes! Bartending is like baking, there is a science to it. My drinks really work. Make it fun, get your guests involved. Stock your bar with gin, an old-fashioned like Beefeater and a new wave like Plymouth. Vodka, cognac, rum, rhum agricole. Three whiskeys: scotch, bourbon, rye. Tequila: blanco and reposado. Cointreau , good vermouth. Don't buy domestic vermouth, get an Italian red and a French white.

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What's Yummy This Week - YumSugar Weekly Recap

YumSugar — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 09:30:31 -0700

PartySugar helps harvest San Francisco's public victory garden.
Check out our firsthand account of tasting food on the trippy new miracle berry.
Hitting bookstores soon: A Rachael Ray parody.
Can you match the Olympians to the foods they can't live without?
Throw this going away party, and people won't want to leave.
Even leftover haters will love these five dinners that improve with time.
Why you'll thank yourself for drinking organic booze.
This Ferrero Rocher frozen pie made us weak in the knees.
Try just one pisco sour, and you'll understand why it's worth fighting over.

All the News That's Fit to Eat - May 21, 2008

YumSugar — Wed, 21 May 2008 12:15:35 -0700

Remembering Robert Mondavi: How the winemaker reinvented Napa Valley. - The New York Times
The foreign competition heats up at the Memphis Barbecue Contest. - Washington Post
Kick your grilling up a notch by making your own spice rubs. - Chicago Tribune
Check out these Summer twists on pisco sour and caipirinha cocktails. - Los Angeles Times
Have you heard of roasting pig in a box? - The Oregonian
These cookbooks will take you around the world on a grill. - San Francisco Chronicle
Ever wondered what's up with that dimple on the bottom of wine bottles? - Dallas Morning News

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