In the land of Pisco... Bad Piscos, Good Piscos?
I was listening various radio and TV programs during the celebrations for the Chilcano de Pisco Week (January), and also Pisco Sour day, first Saturday in February, when the hosts said: "You know the drill! Get ready to prepare your Chilcano or Pisco Sour, but... make sure it's with a good Pisco." What did they mean by that? Are there bad Piscos? Who decides which Piscos are bad? Is it the journalist, the bartender, the sommelier, or a taster? Why do we say something like that when we are celebrating an event related to Pisco, without any evidence? I'm sure if we ask the hosts, who told them that there are bad Piscos or which ones they think are bad? they won't know how to answer. Have you ever heard rum consumers say "prepare a Cuba Libre, but with good rum?" Never. In any case, it's better to say: "prepare your Chilcano de Pisco or your Pisco Sour, but remember, in the bottle label must indicate the Authorization of Use of the Appelation of Origin Pisco (DO) with its registration number. Otherwise, it's not Pisco," which is more logical, isn't it?
Now I remember, the same thing happened to me some time ago during an interview on a media outlet. It was for National Pisco Day (the 4th Sunday of July), I was in the studio celebrating when suddenly the host asked me, "What about adulterated Piscos?" I could only reply, "Excuse me, today is Pisco Day, and the last thing I expect on my birthday is criticism." The same thing happens with Pisco; let's celebrate its day and talk about the problems some other time.
Moreover, it's not only our spirit can be adulterated; many alcoholic drinks suffer from this problem, here and in other parts of the world, so it's nothing new. We need to work to prevent this from happening, and how can we help? When we are offered a bottle of Pisco without Authorization of Use or Appelation of Origin Pisco (DO), we take a picture of the label and the receipt with our cell phone, go to the Web of Peru's National Consumer Protection Authority (Indecopi), and send an email to the address provided. That's it! We have contributed to preventing our National Cultural Heritage distillate from being adulterated.
It's essential to highlight the fact that all Piscos that have the Authorization of Use or Appelation of Origin (DO) have undergone chemical tests to be considered as such. What we have not yet achieved is that, in addition to the chemical tests, an organoleptic test is included with taster panels from the different Pisco-producing regions, which would provide better control.
To understand why we cannot speak so lightly of what they call "bad" Piscos, we need to know about tasting. A Pisco is not evaluated by a single person or a single taster panel. To evaluate correctly, transparently, and professionally, we need to consider at least three panels of seven tasters each, where and who takes the samples, where the evaluation will take place, use the appropriate tools, lighting, time, etc. There are several criteria to follow, so we will have the best appreciation of a particular product, in this case, Pisco. Tasting is not absolute; it's subjective, hedonistic, so a taster cannot evaluate a product alone. They always have to do it in a team, so there are several different aromas, tastes, palates, and criteria. In this way, the evaluations will be more accurate, giving value to the work and the Pisco evaluated. Enjoy Pisco responsibly.
By Livio Pastorino Wagner
Sommelier, Specialist, and Pisco Taster
Registration: CRDO-PISCO 2020 RCO-034-2011
@elmagozurdo
Pisco & music
Cocktail Magazine No. 12 mayo 16, 2017
Cocktail magazine (spanish) in issuu
May 2017
Since 2006 Spreading Pisco Culture to the world
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