National Pisco Day is held annually on the 4th Sunday of every July, and is celebrated both in Peru and all around the world. Peru’s signature cocktail, the Pisco Sour, has its own celebration on the first Saturday of February.

Normally, the Peruvian Embassy in India, New Delhi, would hold a special event to commemorate this special occasion. However, in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, it decided to move the celebrations to social media.

On (26 July), the manager of the Public Affair restaurant, renowned for its love of Peruvian gastronomy and Pisco cocktails, along with an expert bartender, visited the residence of the Ambassador of Peru to have a private celebration and demonstration of excellent cocktails prepared with the Peruvian national spirit.

Public Affair prepared four cocktails for this special occasion, which were then paired with delectable Peruvian cuisine such as ceviche, papa a-la-huancaina, causa and some sweet surprises such as Peruvian dark chocolate.

Pisco is the national drink of Peru, a spirit made from only certain varieties of grapes, which are fermented to wine and then distilled. The first reports of the production of this grape spirit in Peru can be traced back to the year 1613.

Today, Pisco is only produced in the coast of Peru in the regions of Lima, Ica, Arequipa, Moquegua and Tacna. It is exported to more than 19 markets in Europe, North America and Asia.

The first cocktail was Pisco Sour, the unquestionable king of Pisco cocktails. The second was the world famous Chilcano. Then the mixologists of Public Affair used Indian ingredients to create the unique Pisco Gold Rush and Pisco Basil Smash.

There are two brands of the spirit of Peru available in India: Cuatro Gallos and Tabernero La Botija. They are imported by distributors Rad Elan and Monika Enterprise.

Learn more about the preparation of these cocktails on Facebook; search for “EmbassyPeruinIndia”.