During the California gold rush around 1849, the Peruvian spirit, pisco, was readily available in San Francisco, and it was at the Bank Exchange bar where the famous drink, pisco punch, was invented. Pisco is a varietal spirit made with grapes cultivated in the southern coast of Peru. In its early days, the spirit was exported from the port of Pisco, in Peru, which eventually gave it its name. The spirit is distilled to proof and contains only what comes out of the alembic; moreover, it is not diluted or aged in wood barrels. It is made using traditional ways of production that have changed little since the 16th century. The inspiring aromas of the eight pisco grapes yield tasty drinks at the bar, such as San Francisco’s pisco punch.
Duncan Nicol, the last owner of the Bank Exchange & Billiard Saloon, kept serving the pisco punch during the late 1800s, a powerful drink that became quite popular, which, it was said, “…went down like lemonade but came back with the kick of a Missouri mule.” In 1937, Harold Ross, founder of The New Yorker, wrote: “In the old days in San Francisco there was a famous drink called pisco punch, made from pisco, a Peruvian brandy… pisco punch used to taste like lemonade but had a kick like [a] vodka, or worse.” The previous owners, Orrin Dorman and John Torrence, gave the drink recipe to Nicol, and he maintained the tradition of secrecy they had established to the end of his days.
The original recipe was lost when Duncan Nicol passed away; however, according to the booklet, Secrets of Pisco Punch Revealed by William Bronson, it may have been recovered for good.
The Bank Exchange was located on the southeast corner of the intersection of Montgomery and Washington streets, in the Montgomery Block building, where the Transamerica Pyramid now stands.
If you are lucky to have a bottle of pisco albilla, such as Tacama’s Demonio de los Andes or Viñas de Oro, you may want to try your barman skills at home and enjoy a pisco punch, just follow this old recipe from the booklet mentioned above:
INGREDIENTS:
– 1 bottle (24 oz) of pisco – albilla
– 10 oz fresh lemon juice
– 1 fresh Pineapple cut into squares
– 16 oz distilled water
– Gum syrup
– Several Ice cubes (to cool up the mix)
METHOD: Put the squares of pineapple in a bowl with gum syrup to soak overnight. The next morning, mix in a big bowl: 8 oz of the gum syrup with all the ingredients but not the pineapple squares.
Do not keep the ice cubes too long to avoid dilution.
Use 3 or 4 oz punch glasses. Add one of the pineapple squares to each glass.
You may add more lemon juice or gum syrup for a taste.
DRINKING ALCOHOL IN EXCESS IS HARMFUL TO YOUR HEALTH
