Sendero Luminoso: the key

I know it's bad manners to post something on more than one website, but this shit is soooo good I want y'all to know about it:

The obscure Peruvian "aguardiente" Pisco is the latest drink du jour amongst the meejasluts of Soho. You can’t walk into a design studio on a Friday night or a leaving do in the entertainment industry offices that surround Soho Square without spotting a bottle or two in the corner, generally being guarded by a smug looking guy who dresses as though he should be ten years younger than his actual age. Undoubtably its popularity in these circles is due in part to its novelty and exclusivity: the only outlet I could find was a specialist shop in Old Compton Street and a seventy centilitre bottle of Soldeica, the brand leader, comes in at £23-50. If that seems a little pricey its worth recalling that the previous contenders, Grey Goose vodka and Hill’s absinthe retail at around £28 and £48 respectively.

It does no harm that the word-of-mouth on the street has defined it as “liquid cocaine”, and a PR I know swears by it as the “ultimate party starter”. As always Wikipedia is probably a little closer to the truth: Pisco’s “…flavor is very smooth and almost non-alcoholic, which can be very deceptive, with the result that many first-time drinkers often drink to excess and can quickly become inebriated without noticing.” Hmm. Chances are then that your man in the corner with the infantile dress sense is some kind of lecherous vampire rejoicing because he no longer has to purchase illegal rohypnol – or he’s just massively pissed and hasn’t realised yet.

Made from grapes by a similar process to brandy, I can attest that Pisco is very very very smooth. The Peruvian variant is clear, of a slightly thicker consistency than a Polish potato vodka such as Luksusova and when drunk neat has an aftertaste like a mild high quality Grappa. Peruvian Pisco is a “pure” pisco made from one grape source, and is reputedly drunk neat at room temperature. My fellow testers and myself had a neat room temperature glass, a neat glass with ice which was more to our palates, and then with slightly goofy grins and shiny eyes decided to commit heresy and move on to the Piscolas. It is forty per cent proof after all, and it does have that this-is-slightly-more-than-a-mere-alcohol feel you get with decent absinthe or tequila. Innocently we didn’t realise we were commiting a serious heresy by adding coke; Piscola is the national drink of Chile, and the majority of Chilean Piscos are not “pure” being varing shades of yellow and primarily used in cocktails. Ah, fuck it, I always imaginged myself to be an inconoclast.

A Piscola made with Peruvian Pisco is like the best cuba libra you can imagine. Times ten. It is my new all-time favourite spirit based drink, overtaking frozen Zubrowka bison grass vodka and a very cold salty freshly made marguerita. The Soldeica Piscola overtakes both these gorgeous creatures and crosses the finishing line a good ten yards ahead. After splitting the bottle three ways we could have done it all over again. We were in good humour and continued chatting into the early hours of the morning. Admittedly this may have been partially due to deciding to indulge in another popular Peruvian pastime, but the two are incredibly complimentary.

As the clock hit four-thirty I stood up and giggled when I noticed a shining path which stretched from all the way from the sofa to my bed and the arms of morpheus… I slept like a happy well-fed baby.

I strongly recommend Pisco to you. You need it in your life.