Pisco Sour
Pisco, lime, sugar and egg white, shaken to a foam and finished with bitters. Tart, silky and fragrant.
- Time
- 5 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Glass
- Coupe
- Strength
- 2 UK units
How to make a Pisco Sour
- Add everything but the bitters. Put the pisco, lime juice, sugar syrup and egg white in a shaker. Do not add ice yet.
- Dry shake. Shake hard for 10 seconds without ice, until the mix feels thicker and the tin rattles less. This builds the foam.
- Shake with ice. Add ice and shake again for 12 seconds, until the tin is frosted and your hands are cold.
- Double strain. Strain through a fine strainer into a chilled coupe. You should get a thick, white foam about 1 cm deep.
- Dot the bitters. Drop three dots of Angostura onto the foam and, if you like, drag a cocktail stick through them for a pattern.
- Glass
- CoupeNo coupe? A small wine glass or a short tumbler.
- Ice
- No ice
- Garnish
- Three drops of Angostura bitters on the foamOr: A little grated lime zest.
What you need to make a Pisco Sour
Kit
JiggerA double-ended measure, usually 25 ml and 50 ml.
Cocktail shakerA two-piece Boston tin is the easiest to use and clean.
StrainerA Hawthorne strainer fits over the tin or glass.
Fine strainerA small tea strainer catches ice shards.
Citrus squeezerFresh juice makes the biggest difference of anything.
Bottles we'd use
- PiscoA Peruvian quebranta is the classic: Barsol or Macchu Pisco both work and are easy to find in the UK.Find it on Amazon
- Angostura bittersYou only need a few drops, so a small bottle lasts years.Find it on Amazon
Links to Amazon are affiliate links: if you buy through them, Bar Bandol may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
The Pisco Sour story
Pisco is the grape spirit of Peru and Chile, and both countries claim the Pisco Sour. Most accounts credit Victor Vaughen Morris, an American bartender working in Lima in the 1920s, who adapted the whiskey sour. Chile tells its own version of the story, and the argument has gone on for a long time.
The egg white does not add flavour. It adds texture and a thick foam to hold the bitters. For the best foam, shake once without ice, then again with. If you do not want to use raw egg, aquafaba, the liquid from a tin of chickpeas, works as a substitute: use 30 ml for one egg white.
Pisco Sour: your questions answered
What is in a Pisco Sour?
A Pisco Sour is made with 50 ml pisco, 25 ml fresh lime juice, 20 ml sugar syrup and an egg white. Garnish: three drops of Angostura bitters on the foam.
Is a Pisco Sour shaken or stirred?
A Pisco Sour is shaken, not stirred. Shaking hard with ice chills it quickly and helps whip the egg or cream into a light texture, which stirring cannot do. Shake until the outside of the shaker feels very cold.
How strong is a Pisco Sour?
Made to this recipe, a Pisco Sour contains about 2 UK units of alcohol per drink. That is worked out from typical bottle strengths, so it changes with the bottles you use. UK guidelines advise not regularly drinking more than 14 units a week.
What glass do you serve a Pisco Sour in?
Serve a Pisco Sour in a coupe. No coupe? A small wine glass or a short tumbler.
