Wine & Spirits - Winter 2023 - 28

the nearby Lima Cathedral and order the
drink, which was twice the size of a regular
Pisco Sour, served in a large glass with up
to six ounces of Pisco. Despite that substantial
dose of alcohol, the drink manages
to remain refreshing, a lime-forward
Pisco Sour. Probably best to have just one.
Jr. De La Union 958 Plaza San Martin,
Lima, Peru
BAR INGLES
ELOY CUADROS STARTED
AT BAR MAURY WHEN HE
WAS 17 AND STILL MANS
THE BAR TODAY AT 82.
LIMA
BAR MAURY
According to cocktAil folklore, the
Pisco Sour was created by Californian
immigrant Victor Morris. When he
arrived in Lima in 1900 and set up his
Bar Morris, he began using Pisco in a
version of a whiskey sour without egg
white. The bar closed in 1929 and Morris
took up residence at Bar Maury, a
beautiful wood-paneled room off the
lobby of the Hotel Maury. It was here
that he and his bar staff experimented
with adding egg whites and Angostura
bitters to the cocktail, which became the
celebrated Pisco Sour of today. One of
the members of that bar staff was Eloy
Cuadros, the 17-year-old junior barman
who started in 1958 and still mans the
bar today at 82. He claims the addition
of egg white was his idea-he noticed
that the original version lacked body.
For his Pisco Sour, he also uses jarabe de
goma-gum syrup, a rich simple syrup
that's two parts sugar, one part water-
instead of just granulated sugar. He dry
shakes all of these ingredients using a
blender before pouring over ice, creating
the most decadent, frothy-foamed
28
WINE & SPIR IT S
W INTER 2023
version of the drink, which he wheeled
out to our table on a cart. Legend or no,
it was the best Pisco Sour I had.
Jirón Ucayali 201, Lima 15001, Peru
GRAN HOTEL BOLIVAR
grAn hotel BolivAr sits just three
blocks from Bar Maury on Lima's Plaza
San Martín. It opened in 1924 to house
visiting foreign politicians and dignitaries.
It also hosted members of the Hollywood
elite, including Ava Gardner, Orson
Welles, John Wayne; they've signed the
guest book in the lobby, as have the Rolling
Stones. To the left of the lobby-which
is capped by a dome of stained glass-you
will find the Hotel Bolívar Bar, home of the
Pisco Sour Catedral. Legend has it that
gentlemen would stop by before mass at
BAr ingles wAs A fAvorite hAunt of
Ernest Hemingway, who could be found
sipping Pisco Sours at the wooden bar
within the Country Club Lima Hotel,
which opened in 1927. This may be
the most glitzy, well-kept example
of what it would have felt like to visit
in the 1920s-a two-year renovation
completed in 2017 was led by Argentine
architect Francisco López Bustos,
enhancing the early-20th-century architecture
and restoring the furniture. Bar
Inglés has a comfortable lounge feel
with soft, leather armchairs and woodpaneled
walls. There used to be a polo
field behind the hotel, and guests would
gather after matches for a drink and a
recap. The bar carries over 60 brands
of Pisco, six versions of the Pisco Sour
(including an original and Catedral),
and 17 other Pisco Cocktails-like
another Peruvian classic, the Chilcano,
a mixture of Pisco, ginger ale and Angostura
Bitters. Come here for a refined,
" high-society " experience.
Av. los Eucaliptos 590, San Isidro,
Lima, Peru; countrycluBlimAhotel.
com/es/dinning/english-BAr
BODEGA PISELLI
THE PISCO
SOUR AT
BAR INGLÉS
situAted in BArrAnco-known to Be
Lima's bohemian, artist district-this is
a casual neighborhood bar pleasantly frozen
in the past. It was established in 1915
and retains an unassuming nature with
its green façade, simply marked with its
name and address. This cozy, hole-in-thewall
spot is appointed with wooden tables,
chairs and decorated with an assortment
of South American and European flags
on the walls. The original lime Pisco Sour
is delicious and one of the best values in
Lima. They also offer a tasty passion-fruit
version. There isn't a television or music in
the bar, so come here if you want to hang
with the locals, or for some quality face
time with a friend.
28 De Julio 297, Barranco 15063, Peru;
fAceBook.com/PiselliBArrAnco
PHOTOS COURTESY OF BAR MAURY, BAR INGLES, CARNAVAL AND MUSEO DEL PISCO
http://www.fAceBook.com/PiselliBArrAnco
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