Pisco (drink)
Pisco is a distillate made from grape must . It is the national alcoholic drink of Peru and Chile . The Singani from Bolivia is also very similar to the pisco . The exclusive right to make a drink called pisco is claimed by both Peru and Chile and has been the subject of legal battles. In Peru and Chile, the import of foreign brandy products under the name Pisco is prohibited. The name Pisco is in Peru with the name of the current city of Pisco and in Chile with the name of the place Pisco Elquihistorically closely linked and is therefore a geographical designation of origin that is protected by a bilateral agreement between the EU on the one hand and Peru and Chile on the other hand in the sense of a protected geographical indication throughout the EU.
Characteristics
Pisco has existed for over 400 years. It is pure brandy in which between six and seven kilograms of grapes are used to make one liter of pisco. In contrast to Italian grappa , which is distilled from pomace , fermented grape must is the only ingredient used to make pisco. The must comes from some of the eight different types of grapes, also known as "pisco grapes". Muscat grapes (Moscatel) are mainly used for the production of pisco .
The best- known mixed drink based on Pisco is Pisco Sour . In addition, pisco is also drunk as "Piscola", a long drink made from pisco and cola .
Historical background, dispute over designation of origin
The origin of the term "pisco" is debatable. In Quechua , the Inca language already used in the pre-colonial area of today's Peru, “pishco” means something like “bird”. The coastal region around today's city of Pisco south of Lima was called "Pisko" by the Incas because of its abundance of birds. Various high quality vessels for storing alcoholic beverages were made in this region. These were referred to as Piskos (span. Pisquillos ) based on the name of the region . The vessels were then used by the Spaniards along the South American Pacific coast to store the grape brandy. According to this assumption, the grape brandy was named after the vessels.
Another theory is that the name was derived directly from the name of the port city of Pisco in Peru. From here, most of South America's grape brandy production was shipped to Europe. The inscription “de Piscu” was affixed to the transport containers, which the Spaniards then referred to the drink.
The German explorer Eduard Poeppig wrote in his 1835 published travel in Chile, Peru and the Amazon river during the years from 1827 to 1832 that Peru to Chile Pisco brandy exported, while from Chile to Peru brandy was exported. The Wiener Zeitung reported in 1835 that Pisco is a brandy from Peru that is made from grapes of the Italia grape variety :
“Formerly in Chile a large amount of the brandy known in the country as Pisco de Italia was consumed, which came from Peru; but since the import duties have been so high, a kind of grape with large oval berries has been made into a similar drink that has almost completely displaced Peruvian. "
In Robley Dunglison's Medical Lexicon (1858) it says, following a view of the Swiss Johann Jakob von Tschudi under the catchphrase Aguardiente :
"In Peru, the common brandy obtained from grapes is the Aguardiente de Pisco, so called because shipped at the port of Pisco. [ In Peru the common brandy made from grapes is the Aguardiente de Pisco, which is so called because it is shipped from the port of Pisco ]. "
Even Chileans do not deny that pisco brandy was first made in Peru. However, the Chilean manufacturers and traders argue that pisco has become a generic term for this type of brandy in South America and is therefore not tied to the geographical designation of origin in Peru. In order to underline the Chilean claim to its own pisco production, the Chilean town of La Greda was renamed Pisco Elqui on February 1, 1936 .
Pisco varieties
Peruvian pisco
Peruvian Pisco is a distillate made from grapes grown in Peru, which has been produced in the region around the port city of Pisco in Ica, Peru, since the early 17th century - just after the first vines came to Peru from the Canary Islands.
Categorization
The quality assurance of the Peruvian Pisco is very important to the Peruvian state, which is why it was awarded the Supreme Decree No. 001-91-ICTI / IND has issued that Peruvian pisco must meet a technical standard. This technical standard in the current version of 2006 "NTP211.001: 2006" applies to all piscos produced in Peru and states that Peruvian pisco is the distillate of the freshly fermented must of the eight approved pisco grapes and must be produced using methods which preserve the traditional quality principles. According to this standard, the alcohol level of a Peruvian Pisco must be between 38 % vol. and 48% vol. lie.
Grape varieties
The grapes permitted for the production of a Peruvian Pisco are divided into non-aromatic and aromatic grapes. The four permitted non-aromatic grape varieties are:
The other four permitted aromatic grape varieties are:
Other grape varieties are not allowed for the production of Peruvian pisco.
Classification
Peruvian pisco is divided into three classes:
- Pisco Puro - "puro" means "pure" in Spanish. This pisco category includes piscos that are made from a single grape variety.
- Pisco Mosto Verde - "Mosto Verde" means "green must " and classifies a pisco that has been distilled from a must whose fermentation was prematurely interrupted. This premature interruption leads to special taste in the brandy.
- Pisco Acholado - classifies a mixture or a blend of the following permitted ingredients: Pisco grapes, grape must, fermented must, as well as distilled piscos (both aromatic and non-aromatic grapes are permitted as a base). Typical Acholado blends consist of distillates of one or two aromatic grapes and one non-aromatic grape. For example, the Peruvian Piscos Barsol Acholado and Viñas de Oro Acholado use a blend of distillates from the grape varieties Quebranta (non-aromatic), Italia and Torontel (both aromatic); Ocucaje Acholado a blend of distillates from the Quebranta and Italia grapes.
Storage and additives
Peruvian pisco must rest for at least three months before bottling. Only containers that have no influence on the physical, chemical or organoleptic properties, such as steel or glass tanks, are permitted for this purpose. Maturation in wooden barrels, as is done with many other spirits, is therefore not allowed for Peruvian pisco. No additives (such as the usual additions of water, sugar or caramel , glycerine or oak extracts) may be added to Peruvian pisco . This means that the alcohol content of Peruvian Pisco may not be reduced with water after distillation, but Peruvian Pisco directly to the permitted values of 38 to 48% vol. must be distilled.
Manufacturer
The most famous Pisco-growing areas in Peru are in the Ica region and the Lima region . Other growing areas are Arequipa, Moquegua and Tacna.
The three largest export companies of Peruvian pisco with the associated pisco brands, sorted by export volume in 2017, are:
- Bodega San Isidro - Pisco Barsol (13%)
- Destileria La Caravedo - Pisco Portón (13%)
- Bodega y Viñedos Tabernero - Pisco Tabernero (11%)
Other Pisco brands on the German market are Ocucaje , Tacama ( Demonio de los Andes ) and Pisco Cascajal .
Chilean pisco
The Muscat d'Alexandrie variety is mainly used for Chilean pisco , as well as Pedro Ximénez , Moscatel Rosada, Torrontés Riojano and Torrontés Sanjuanino (also called Moscatel de Austria). In Chile, pisco is divided into quality levels according to the alcohol content: 35% vol. (Pisco Especial), 38-40% vol. (Pisco Reservado) and 43% vol. or more (Gran Pisco, e.g. 50% vol. from the Artesanos del Cochiguaz brand).
In the Chilean Elqui Valley there is the place Pisco Elqui . This was once called La Greda , then La Unión and has been using the Quechua name Pisco since February 1, 1936 , to indicate its local production. The main growing area for Chilean pisco grapes is in Elqui.
literature
- Austral Spectator: Apuntes sobre Grapas, Piscos y Singanis . In: Viñas, Bodegas & Vinos de América del Sur . Ediciones Granica S.A., 2004, ISBN 987-20914-1-2 , pp. 564-567.
- Johnny Schuler Rauch: Pasión por el Pisco - Rutas Y Sabores . E. Wong S. A., Lima, Peru 2006, ISBN 9972-58-355-4 .
Web links
- Volker Mehnert: Peru, Chile and the Pisco sour. A gringo invented it. In: FAZ.net . 3rd July 2014.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Trade Agreement between the European Union and its member states on the one hand and Colombia and Peru on the other (PDF), accessed on April 15, 2019 . P. 2602.
- ↑ a b Martin Morales: Ceviche - Peruvian cuisine . Fackelträger Verlag, Cologne 2014, ISBN 978-3-7716-4551-9 , p. 198 .
- ^ E. Poeppig (1835): Journey in Chile, Peru and on the Amazon River during the years 1827-1832. Friedrich Fleischer / JC Hinrichssche Buchhandlung, Leipzig, p. 339
- ^ Austral Spectator: Apuntes sobre Grapas, Piscos y Singanis . In: Viñas, Bodegas & Vinos de América del Sur . Ediciones Granica S.A., 2004, pp. 564-567, ISBN 987-20914-1-2
- ^ Chile y Perú: La disputa por el pisco. ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: El Mercurio . 2003, Santiago de Chile
- ↑ Law 5798 of the Chilean Parliament
- ↑ a b Evolución Normativa. (No longer available online.) CONAPISCO, archived from the original on September 15, 2013 ; accessed on January 14, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Grapes used for Peruvian pisco , accessed November 5, 2016.
- ↑ http://www.siicex.gob.pe/siicex/portal5ES.asp?_page_=172.17100&_portletid_=sfichaproductoinit&scriptdo=cc_fp_init&pproducto=2208202100
