Pisco is a grape brandy made in the dry valleys of northern Chile and southern Peru, and both countries claim it, its name and the pisco sour as their own, an argument conducted with great passion and no prospect of a finish. The Chilean pisco sour is the country's aperitif of choice: pisco, the juice of the small, fragrant limes of Pica, and sugar syrup, shaken with ice. The usual proportion is three parts pisco to one of lime and one of syrup. Many Chileans leave out the egg white that gives the Peruvian version its thick foam, though plenty of bars add it.

It appears before lunch, at weddings, at barbecues and at the start of any occasion worth marking, and it is quick to make for a crowd in a blender. The zero proof version keeps the lime and the froth for everyone else.

Simple syrup

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (100 g) sugar
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) water

The pisco sour

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons (90 ml) Chilean pisco
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) simple syrup
• 1 pasteurized egg white
• 1 cup ice cubes
• 2 to 4 drops aromatic bitters

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