Do you drink to remedy a hangover? Though counterintuitive, you’re not alone.
Throughout the globe, hair-of-the-dog cures—like Canada’s Bloody Caesar—are ‘prescribed’ by mates, relations, and even medical professionals. In actual fact, the “like cures like” concept may be traced all the way in which again to Hippocrates’ period, almost 2,500 years in the past. So, there should be some knowledge in it.
In Peru, the hair-of-the-dog cocktail is the Chilcano, which is loosely translated to ‘fish stew’. With its lemon-forward taste and fish bone broth, the stew model of Chilcano can also be a Peruvian treatment for hangovers. The cocktail model of Chilcano is pisco (an unaged brandy and Peru’s nationwide spirit), ginger beer, and lime served over rocks in a excessive ball glass.
The drink’s origin may be traced to a single tradition versus a single cocktail slinger. Within the mid-1800s, Italians started fleeing their dwelling nation because of dire poverty. Some began a brand new life in Peru. Used to consuming Buongiornos (or Good Mornings), a combination of grappa—Italy’s brandy—and ginger ale, Italian immigrants are credited for uplifting the Chilcano. Ask Italian-Peruvian locals in the present day concerning the Chilcano, and they’ll in all probability have a number of recollections to share of their grandparents and great-grandparents consuming a Chilcano.
“These Italians knew what they had been doing,” says Adam Weintraub, proprietor of three Museum of Pisco bars in Peru and founding father of Patrimonio.
“However the true inspiration lies within the distinctive limes from Peru. The limón sutil [key lime] offers the Chilcano it’s steadiness and punch.”
You might or might not be capable to get this lime varietal within the States. However now you will have a motive to journey to Peru. You’re welcome. Whereas there, go to Weintraub’s Museum of Pisco for a Chilcano tasting, in Lima, Cusco and Arequipa. The tasting contains 4 variations of house-made ginger syrup and infused piscos, plus there’s a DIY session the place you possibly can add the quantity of pisco, Peruvian lime juice, and ginger ale that fits your model.
Like Mezcal, variations of Peru’s nationwide spirit are limitless relying on the grape or mix of grapes used to make the pisco. Once more, just like the completely different agave varietals distilled to make mezcal, every grape varietal lends a really completely different taste profile. Which is the perfect kind of pisco to make use of within the Chilcano?
“In case you ask a correct pisquero, it is best to use the Torontel varietal of pisco, which has a superb fruit and flower nostril to it, giving a fantastic floral element to the ginger and lime,” explains Weintaub.
“A well-made Acholado, or blended varietal, additionally generally is a nice balanced and nuanced pisco for the Chilcano. My finest reply, although, is … whichever pisco you will have closest!”
Talking of pisco readily available, decide up a bottle if it’s not an everyday participant in your bar cart. The flexibility of this all-star mixer is a pure pleasure to play with in lots of tried-and-true cocktails, like a Martini, Manhattan, Margarita and extra. As soon as your bar is stocked with pisco, strive making the cure-all Chilcano. You’ll quickly uncover why locals choose them, nearly greater than their beloved Pisco Bitter.
Chilcano
Components
- 2 oz. Pisco
- ½ oz. Lime Juice, freshly squeezed
- Ginger Ale, chilled to high
- 2 drops Angostura Bitters
- Lime Twist (for garnish)
Preparation
- Fill highball glass with ice, add pisco, and lime juice.
- High with ginger ale and add drops of bitters.
- Garnish with lime twist.
