Salud, Chile: Celebrating Pisco's Home Turf, One Cocktail at a Time

Every 15 May, Chile marks Día del Pisco – a national toast to the grape spirit that has been distilled in the Elqui, Atacama and Coquimbo valleys since the sixteenth century, and which carries its own Denominación de Origen protecting the name for producers in those regions alone. It's a spirit built on sun: high-altitude vineyards, some of the clearest skies on earth, and Muscat grapes that ripen into something intensely aromatic before they ever reach the still.

Three producers, each rooted in that same stretch of northern Chile, make the case for pisco in very different styles of drink.

Four Ways With Chilean Pisco

The Midnight Pisco — made with ABA Pisco  (buy  ABA Pisco 50cl | Master Of Malt )

A family distillery founded in 1995 in the Elqui Valley, ABA still double-distils in copper pot stills from Muscat grapes grown in the Chilean Andes. That aromatic character carries a stirred, spirit-forward drink beautifully.

50ml pisco · 25ml sweet vermouth (Carpano Antica, Cocchi di Torino or Cinzano Rosso) · 2 dashes Angostura bitters · 1 dash orange bitters (optional)

Stir all ingredients over ice for 20–30 seconds until well chilled.

Pisquera Aba - Valle del Elqui - Chile

The Pisco Pinch (Classic Pisco Punch) — made with Waqar Pisco (buy Waqar Pisco 70cl | Master Of Malt )

Waqar is part of Chile's Made By Chileans network, a group of independent producers exporting the country's Designation-of-Origin pisco under their own names rather than as a generic bulk spirit.

50ml pisco · 25ml fresh pineapple juice · 20ml fresh lemon juice · 15ml gomme syrup (or 2:1 sugar syrup) · 2 dashes Angostura bitters (optional)

Shake hard with ice for 10–12 seconds.

Pisco Waqar by Pisquera Tulahuen

The Pisco Sour — made with Capel Moai ( buy Capel Moai Reservado Pisco 70cl | Master Of Malt )

Capel is Chile's largest pisco cooperative, producing the majority of the country's output from over 1,200 grower-members. The Moai expression, named for its Rapa Nui-inspired bottle, is a fitting tribute bottled in the country's national spirit.

60ml pisco · 30ml fresh lime juice (or lemon, if preferred locally) · 20ml simple syrup (1:1) · 20ml egg white (or 25ml aquafaba for a vegan version) · 3 dashes Angostura bitters, to finish

Dry shake without ice for 10–15 seconds to build the foam, then add ice and shake again for 10–15 seconds. Finish with bitters dashed over the foam.

Piscola

No Chilean celebration is complete without the country's own everyday serve.

50ml pisco · 120–150ml cola · lime wedge (optional) · ice

Build over ice in a highball, top with chilled cola, stir gently and garnish. This is what Chileans are actually ordering on a Friday night – proof that pisco doesn't need dressing up to earn its place.

A Spirit Worth the Toast

From ABA's family-run stills to Capel's cooperative scale, what unites these three is a shared insistence on the Elqui Valley's sun-grown Muscat and a pride in carrying the Chile brand abroad. Whichever glass you raise, it's worth remembering: this is Chile, distilled.