The history of chilcano—ice, pisco, a few drops of lime juice, and topped with ginger ale—is still a mystery, different versions try to explain its origin. Among all versions there are a couple that are connected by time and purpose. Chilcano was the cocktail to drink in the mornings after a party night, to cut the hangover. The same concept as having a fish chilcano in the morning, a soup that has the same color as the drink, which led to think that it gave the name to the cocktail. This concept is also tied to the fact that Italian immigrants, who established in Callao after WWI, used to have a morning drink, buon giorno, made with grappa, ginger ale, and lime. A time came that grappa was not available anymore, so they switch it for pisco. Anyway, chilcano rose in popularity later on, by 1930 it was well known in other regions in Peru; however, chilcano has an older version that goes back to the XVII century.
In colonial time, in Lima, people used to prepare infusions with herbs brought by the Spaniards. An infusion called, tisane, was a combination of marjoram, rosemary, spearmint, and green anise. This infusion and a syrup made of it were combined with pisco and lime juice to make a chilcano (Melendez). So, the ginger ale factor came centuries after, probably due to the previous versions explained above or just because of the easiness of topping up the glass straight from a pre-bottled ginger ale beverage.
Chilcano is distinguished every year in January with a whole week of celebrations on its honor. It’s a journey over the five regions where pisco is produced: Arequipa, Ica, Lima, Moquegua, and Tacna.
Create your own chilcano:
Chilcano is a cocktail where one can enjoy the taste of pisco as true of itself. The essential ingredients in a chilcano are pisco, lime juice, and ginger ale. Pisco’s eight grape varieties and the many blends (acholados) yield chilcanos for every taste. Adding to these choices, chilcanos are also made with macerated piscos—infused pisco with herbs, fruits, and vegetables—expanding the drink to an infinite cast of flavors. The aroma of each variety of pisco brings bartenders to explore with ingredients of their choice and create new chilcanos with macerated piscos. The culture and creativity that pisco elicits is not only a solitary experience, the experimentation of new chilcano flavors is celebrated globally during Chilcano Week every year in January. Chill with chilcano!
DRINKING ALCOHOL IN EXCESS IS HARMFUL TO YOUR HEALTH
