We often write about wine, a typically low-alcohol product, but we have often neglected to mention the other end of the spectrum.
All too often, our first experience with what the Native Americans may have called “fire water” was just that, a cheaply made liquid that burned going down and may even have burned on the way out. At that point, a life long abhorrence to anything stronger than wine may have been born.
We must tell you that was exactly our experience. Our first strong alcoholic beverage was a bottle of cognac won at a fair in Frankfurt, Germany. Back at the hotel, we tried it and promptly poured it down the drain, swearing “never again.”
Luckily, our first job as wine reporters was a cognac tasting. Needless to say, we approached this task with much apprehension based on our previous experience. The first one we tried was Louie XIV, which proved to be ethereal, and a new, expansive world was opened to us. Good, stronger alcoholic products take years, some even decades, to mature and mellow and escape from the fire water classification.
We have become unabashed, unrelenting Armagnac lovers, never having tasted one that we did not like. To the uninitiated, it is a brandy that seems similar to cognac, but to those who know, they are worlds apart. Both are French, both come from the southern end of the country and both are distilled spirits. But that is where the similarity ends.
We were completely floored when we heard that Porton Pisco, a grape-based brandy similar to cognac and Armagnac, was made in of all places, Peru, a country not generally known as a major grape producer.
At the beginning of the 17th century, Peru was a major supplier of wines to churches up and down the western American coast. Not appreciating the competition, the Spanish initiated a series of taxes that made their wines more affordable than the Peruvian selections. With a glut of wines on their hands, the Peruvians turned to distilling, and Pisco was born.
Pisco is made in a novel manner. The grapes used are indigenous to Peru and were totally unfamiliar to us. These are crushed and fermented using the yeast, which forms naturally on the grapes. The drink is then distilled, but not in the usual way. In almost all of the other distilled beverages, the distillation process produces a liquid of about 164 proof, which is then brought down to its desired strength by the addition of water. Pisco is distilled to exactly 86 proof, thus leaving behind a small amount of the original grape wine, which adds extra layers of flavor. It is then aged for about a year in concrete vats to mellow, resulting in a colorless, crystal clear beverage.
Porton Pisco ($40)Rarely, in our years of writing about wine and spirits, have we experienced such a delightful beverage. We can only compare it to an Armagnac in flavor and aroma.
The first aroma sensation is that of spring flowers and white fruits with hints of herbs and spice. The flavor takes off in a completely different direction, expressing cinnamon and citrus with hints of grass and orange blossom. The finish is almost indescribable, but is fresh and extraordinarily long lasting.
Porton Pisco is a beverage that is often used for mixed drinks, raising them to new heights of enjoyment. Our preference is to enjoy the beverage neat - uncluttered by other flavors. We usually do not hang our necks out too far on the subject of alcoholic beverages, but Porton Pisco is in a world - no, make that a galaxy - by itself and has found a permanent place in our library of alcoholic beverages.
Nixa resident Bennet Bodenstein is a wine columnist and manages ArticlesOnWine.com. He can be reached at frojhe1@att.net.
