Following the popularity of the Peruvian cuisine, Pisco sour has become a famous cocktail. Another cocktail from Peru that is not as well known yet is Chilcano. Chilcano is made with pisco, ginger ale, a few drops of bitters and some ice cubes. And I have to admit... I like it even better than pisco sour, Peru's national drink.
The primary ingredient in chilcano is (just like in pisco sour), pisco, a brandy similar to italian grappa. But it's lighter, fresher. My first and best chilcano ever, was at restaurant Mayta in Lima and it was prepared by bartender Renzo Amaya. He has won several awards for making the best cocktails based on pisco.
To mix a chilcano, you can also use pisco infusions, called "macerados" (second photo), made with fruit, leaves or roots. I especially loved the ones made with mango, camu camu and goldenberry. Although it will never taste as good as in Peru, I tried to make chilcanos at home.... and they turned out pretty well if I may say so myself (last photo). Salud!
Read more about Mayta here:
http://tarasdolcevita.blogspot.nl/2015/04/restaurant-mayta-lima-peru.html
