A Night of Chile’s Pisco

November 18, 2024

Chile pisco? Isn’t that the drink of Peru?
But to be fair, the last pisco sour I had was at the Santiago airport heading home from a wine-tasting intro to the South American country.

So… When an invite comes from ProChile to attend an artesinal pisco tasting at the hot new SA resto Mercy Me DC, we figured we’d make a date night of it.

That was an excellent move.

The pisco de Chile tasting begins with a couple of artesenal ones from the north. [Credit: Julie Boatman]
The lineup of pisco cocktails ranges across the spectrum at Mercy Me DC. [Credit: Julie Boatman]
The pre-mixed pisco cocktails came in testing versions so you could try them all. [Credit: Julie Boatman]

Several producers lined the intimate dining room in the rear of the restaurant, which also featured its own bar, where premixed cocktails had been selected to show off the range of flavors and profiles that pisco—a clear spirit pressed or expressed from grapes and coming in at 40 proof—can take on.

The unique Manchego Sour featured a barrel-aged pisco. [Credit: Julie Boatman]
One fave: the PPP with passionfruit. [Credit: Julie Boatman]
The Verde was also a hit. [Credit: Julie Boatman]
A very cool twist: the Pisconi, a take on the Negroni. [Credit: Julie Boatman]
Light and refreshing: a cranberry & hibiscus & sake pisco shrub. [Credit: Julie Boatman]
My favorite tasting of the eve: a barrel-aged pisco fromto Atacama Desert. [Credit: Julie Boatman]

The evening also fit in a buffet of snacks, sliders, and desserts to play off the drinks and counterpoint the serious depth of pisco’s ability to complement food.

Chilean ceviche featured beets as well as red onions and whitefish. [Credit: Julie Boatman]
A plate of tasty snacks ranged from aioli to padrones. [Credit: Julie Boatman]
The croquetas de bacalão featured large flakes of flavorful fresh cod. [Credit: Julie Boatman]
The plate of sweet treats included a pistachio
lemon tart. [Credit: Julie Boatman]

All in all, we loved a lot of what we tasted… and found some new friends among the bottles.

My favorite tasting of the eve: a barrel-aged pisco fromto Atacama Desert. [Credit: Julie Boatman]