Pisco

In South America, especially Chile, Peru and Bolivia, there is a popular grape brandy called Pisco which also forms the mixer for other popular cocktails of the region. The brandy is a developing trend in food circles as South American foods become popular and as a product is reviewed by Bordeu et al., 2012.

The brandy originated in Pisco, Peru but has travelled around South America especially into Chile. It is protected by denomination legislation and bottled in the Atacama and Coquimbo regions of Chile. Peru however also lays claim to Pisco’s provenance with its own appellation which has yet to be fully resolved.

The brandy is drunk relatively fresh or slightly aged. The Muscat grape that forms the base is preferred although other grape varieties have been exploited. The quality of Pisco has been researched for many years – typically the important factors are grape qualities, the process for fermentation, the method of distillation and the extent of ageing. The flavour depends on the congeners in the brandy – the presence of minor volatile components such as alcohols and esters at low concentrations. Pisco is characterised by the Muscat aroma with a very low concentrations of fatty acids. Unfortunately, not all congeners are favourable – methanol and acetaldehyde not only problematic but toxic. The concentration of methanol according to Chile regulations must be less than 1.5g/L of the absolute alcohol. The distillation method was examined by Osorio et al., (2005). The sensory characteristics are described by Lillo et al., 2005.

In due course, Pisco is set to be a new spirit for the UK market and I’d be interested to know what others think of the product.

Bordeu, E., Agosin, E., Casaubon, G., (2012) Pisco: production, flavour chemistry, sensory analysis and product development. In: Alcoholic beverages: Sensory Evaluation and Consumer Research. Edt. J. Piggott. Woodhead Publ. Ltd. Cambridge. UK.
Lillo, M.P., Latrille, E., Casaubon, G., Agosin, E., Bordeu, E., Martin, N. (2005) Comparison between odour and aroma profiles of Chilean Pisco spirit. Food Qual. Pref. 16(1) pp. 59-70
Osorio, D., Pérez-Correa, R., Biegler, L., & Agosin, E. (2005). Wine distillates: Practical operating recipes formulation for stills. J. Agric. Food Chem., 53(16), pp. 6226 – 6331.