The Pisco Sour is apparently like the national drink of Peru and Chile where the spirit is made. As Dale puts it, "like the Bloody Mary in this country, everybody thinks his or her recipe is the best...". Traditionally the Pisco Sour is made with Pisco, lemon juice, sugar, and egg white, then garnished with a few drops of Angostura bitters.

This is how the traditional Pisco Sour should look. Bobby Heugel in Houston uses a Misto mister to put the bitters on top, which makes for a more even flavor distribution.

If you will please indulge me a little time travel, I would like to share with you another Pisco Sour that we tasted in New Orleans last summer when we were there for the Tales of the Cocktail conference. We went to Tujague's, the classic New Orleans bar with no stools that has been there for over a hundred years. So had the bar matron, as far as we could tell, and so we assumed that we could order a classic cocktail and get the real deal, given that the bar maid pre-dated Prohibition. Oy were we wrong. We sipped through a couple of Sazeracs and Manhattans (more or less passable) and then Tipsy spotted a bottle of BarSol Pisco on the bar. He asked if she could make a Pisco Sour, and she got to work. And we watched in horror as she poured ice, Pisco, a pre-made Sweet & Sour mix from a re-purposed Arizona Iced Tea jug, bitters and a squeeze of lime. She served it up with a smile and we sort of poked at it for a moment with the straw, being not entirely sure what to do.

"Did I make it wrong?" She asked. We didn't have the heart to tell her. So I ordered a Grasshopper to-go and we were on our way.

That's me with my Grasshopper in a plastic cup. And my hippo lounge singer t-shirt. I want to be like that hippo lounge singer some day, just playing my piano. And hopefully sipping on a Grasshopper.