Pisco

Also called pisco puro, pisco acholado, mosto verde

A clear grape brandy from Peru and Chile, each with its own rules. Peruvian pisco is distilled once to bottling strength from eight permitted grapes and rested without wood; Chilean pisco may be distilled again, diluted and aged in oak. Floral, grapey and bright, it makes the Pisco Sour.

fresh grape
white flowers
pear
citrus zest
muscat perfume
soft pepper
clean finish

Origin

Peru's pisco is distilled from the fresh must of eight permitted grapes, four non-aromatic led by quebranta and four aromatic muscat types, in the coastal valleys of Lima, Ica, Arequipa, Moquegua and Tacna. Only single distillation is allowed, nothing may be added afterward (not even water), and it rests at least three months in inert vessels; styles are puro, acholado and mosto verde, at 38 to 48% ABV. Chile permits four grape varieties, repeated distillation, dilution and oak aging. US regulations list pisco as a protected brandy type.

Common uses

pisco-sour
Chilcano with ginger ale and bitters
Pisco Punch
a pisco Collins

Pours that use it

International
Pisco Sour
Lima's grape-brandy sour under a cap of foam and bitters
Peru's national cocktail: pisco, fresh lime, simple syrup and egg white, shaken without ice and then with it, strained up and finished with drops of aromatic bitters on the foam.
PiscoShakenIntermediate

Sources

Peruvian pisco, Difford's Guide · secondary source, retrieved 2026-10-11
Pisco Essential Info, VinePair · tertiary source, retrieved 2026-10-11
27 CFR 5.145 Brandy (standards of identity), Cornell Legal Information Institute · primary source, retrieved 2026-10-11