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Gastronomy

By Hans Hilburg

The topic of our previous article was the name “Pisco” and its identification with the Pisco of Peru. It had nothing to do with the quality of our product. That is why, Lucre (a Peruvian, by the way, just like me) was trying in a way, wrong or right, to show her distress in regards to the way Pisco is dealt with in several sectors of our Peruvian society. And this is not just lately, but has always been the case.

What we are talking about is the great hypocrisy that exists about the consumption of our flagship spirit. Also, we must look at the disorganized and sloppy way that we try to place Pisco in markets around the world; a lack of solidarity that exists among producers, and the lack of a consensus in order to be able to get our product ahead as a whole. Everyone does it his or her own way; there is no unity in this field, no sense of team work. Very few, not wanting to say nobody, think in terms of “Pisco Peru” as a name, but rather refer to Pisco accompanied by the name of their own brand, which of course is touted as the “best on the market”, according to them.

There has been a significant advance, which keeps growing, with regards to the consumption of Pisco in Peru and that is a fact. But exactly where in Peru is this consumption? Well, definitely in the Pisco areas in the South and over the past 8-10 years in the department of Lima. And this is where I consider myself one of the agents of said increase of consumption in Lima, especially in regards to all things related to cocktails with Pisco, be they classic or contemporary.

But is Pisco consumed in the rest of Peru? Is the consumption of Pisco promoted in the rest of Peru? Of course not! And, not going too far a field, here in Lima, what percentage of the population actually drinks it? How many people like Pisco? In particular, how many consumers of Pisco know how to appreciate it? Generally speaking, how many REALLY know Pisco, its varieties, aromas and flavors? You can be rest assured that it is only a very small group if we compare it to the rest of the population of our beloved country.

The identification with Pisco in Peru has only worked in some areas and as of late, only in some sectors, depending on the brand. There are brands that can and are being sold only in the elite market, but under no circumstances are many of these brands willing to sell outside of Lima. What they do is change the name for other markets and even lower the quality, and they end up being what is commonly know in the industry as a “piscos de batalla” or Pisco battle, because they are much cheaper. Cheaper, you ask? You mean that they can make expensive and cheap piscos? Of course they can The expensive Piscos for the big stores and for the tourists and the cheap ones for those people who don’t really know Pisco or for those who just sell “Pisco sours”, particularly for the freebies!

Pisco is Peru? In Peru? No, unfortunately it's not!

Just what is it that we are doing to create a true Pisco consciousness in our country? Well, nothing or almost nothing. And that is one of the frustrations that many in the industry express and that the writer of last week’s article was trying to express. Everyone wants to “export” their product; logically. But I sincerely believe that we need to do much more to promote, educate and support all of our population (native and expatriate) in their knowledge and consumption of our Pisco. Only then, can we say with all the pride in the world and sincere patriotism that “Pisco is Peru”.

Some readers may have been offended by the comparison in last week’s article to our neighbor country. The truth is that all of the upset that exists is really against us. By that I mean that it is our own fault for not having had the vision to see further ahead, for not having worked together for a greater good rather than for our own individual brands, and for having left the rest of Peru isolated from this important issue.

For the true lovers of Pisco and of Peru, like myself, there should be more of a consensus and unity.

Pisco is Peruvian and it is unique. But we have to make it be respected by our deeds and by our quality and just through words filled with hate and resentment.

jc wong says :
28-02-08,12:44:31

Hans
I think you spend too much time behind a bar, also your sense of time is a bit distorted. peru has been around as a republic almost 200 years and in other forms much longer.

peruvians (us, citizens of the republic of peru, born, naturalized, adopted or in any other form) have been drinking pisco for  a long time, not necesarily $20 fancy labeled .5 liter bottles, but pisco nonetheless.

again, since you missed the point the first time, pisco is peru not because it is 
produced in huge volumes (today that is, in the past it was, who knows about the future)
or because people drink it out of an austrian crystal glass instead of a damajuana 
and a plastic cup.

repeat again and again until you get the point:
whiskey=scotland
bourbon=kentucky
tequila=mexico
grappa=italy
ouzo=greece
peru=pisco
etc
etc
etc

theres no resentment involved hans but any opinion, thesis or argument
is better understood with facts.
chile does not do us any favors by trying to steal the name of pisco.
there are 28 miilion people in peru and about 3 million peruvians abroad,
even if only 10% of those people drank cheap or expensive (?) pisco what does that have to do with its name and origin?

sorry for the long reply but some of the points you made above are rather funny, you expect a lot of peruvians to buy $20 bottles of pisco so they can make pisco more peruvian? maybe they'd rather buy food, clothes, etc.

you missed the point of your own argument.

Davicho says :
28-02-08,04:42:22

Dear Hans,
I see the cat is out of the bag and Lucre (Lucrecia?) wisely remains quiet. This note should not be interpreted as a temptation to her to come out punching, but rather as an expression of a shallow suspicion of mine that dear Hans has a multiple personality syndrome. I share your pathos: i also give credit to my beloved lab retriever for all sorts of things that land on my feet. She is SO caddy, but she provides such a handy 'nom de plume', although in this case some may see it as 'nom de guerre'. I hope you can find some irony in this, as it shows how quickly how ideas can be distorted. Either wrapped in dogma or oportunity, a few people in Chile would like us to believe that all of Peru is anti-chilean (once again the oportunistic creation of a term that only exist in the mind of the dogmatic). It is so convient to name all pro-Peru as anti-Chile. I can only regret the futility of some people in Peru to live in the past, but lets make sure that we all keep in mind that there is also such a group of people in Chile, and in the UK and USA and Turkey, and the list goes on and on. Historians have found a way to support themselves in that market. If it was all left to them, the european union would not exist.
Humans would do well to integrate. The sooner the better. But go ask the israelis if the best way to prosperity is to forget. No need to answer this.
I was amussed by the rather 'new' claim that the italian-peruvians are 'conspiring' to poisson the air. hahahhahah. But lets don't go too far off the edge here. What am I? I am peruvian blessed with a rich gene pool, but to some I may be a mutt. There is something very agravating about a mutt eating the pure bred's lunch. But it happens all the time. A frustrated pure bred bitch coined the term mutt.
Consecrated by the rite of evolution, we are all mutts (including you dear Hans). It is divine design for survival. All other claims also live in the past.
My dear Hans, if you will visit the chilean (Elqui) page, you will learn that the name was 'officially' changed to include the vocablo 'Pisco' in it. When asked why, the oportunistic reply comes quick: 'strategic reasons'. Oh, that makes it sound SO respectable. Kind of like calling highway robery 'politics as usual'. Can we go to Indecopi and register the name Volkwagen because parts for them are made in Villa el Salvador. Germany does not make those parts anymore. Matter of fact the overall consumption of those parts in Germany is less that the consumption of pisco in Peru. Do you think it would hold in court? Maybe if we change the name from Villa el Salvador to Volks Salvatajem? But I digress.
By the way, I am also a humble speaker of castellano (castilian only because it must be traslated). A rich a tongue indeed. Kind of like some proud speaker of beautiful deustch, which is called 'german' by the rest of us non-speakers of the tongue of Goeth.
I have for years feel quietly blessed to speak such a pure accent free tongue while hearing others sound like a chusma. And that includes a number of spanish nationals with beautiful minds and manners. My daughter had a wonderful experience as an exchange student in Barcelona, and my wife walked for 29 days the 'Camino de Santiago' trail from Roscesvalles in the Basque country to Finistierre, past Santiago de Campostella. Madrid was just a brief stop. But I am a humble witness as to how the tongue of Cervantes is murdered routinely in its own backyard. But so is english in many parts of England, not to mention the USA ( Appalachia and most of the south). Were do we find in this a license to STEAL the name like PISCO. By anybody? Not just a few chileans (of italian descent too? hahahahah)
I fell so lucky to be peruvian. Proud? I am not so sure. The amish have shown the world that pride is source to much of what goes wrong with humans, and they have removed all reminders of pride from they daily existance including their clothing and transportation. Their wisdom has yielded a culture almost totally devoid of daily transgressions. That includes respecting your neighbors because it brings us all closer. You see, honesty can be a force of human integration. Stealing tends to create bad blood that linger is spite of our best efforts. In my next life I want to come back as an amish farmer (lab retriever is my second best choice). I will have to do some research and ammend my wishes after I find out whether amish can consume pisco or not.
By the way, I am also part german, by marriage, since my wife is considered my other half.
Enough said. Thanks for such an estimulating forum. It humbles me to belong to a source of such deep, endless culture.

Arturo V.G. says :
28-02-08,11:09:08

Hi Hans, how is it going buddy?

This is really funny..... The first article was focused in offensive statements claiming that pisco can't be 100% peruvian because 10% of its population consume it!

This new article is just the opposite. It even calls pisco our flagship spirit....

That's what I call a Chamaleon, and a good one!

Well, I don't want to keep the argument with pisco, Pisco was, it is and it will always be peruvian.....

I just have some thoughts that I'd like to share with other LIP reviewers...

I'm peruvian and pisquero, my father is pisquero, my father in law is pisuqero and my kids will be pisqueros someday... I drink pisco very often and really enjoy it straight, in pisco sour and many kinda cocktails. A Capitan for this sunny summer sounds like paradise to me.

But yeah, I agree that there is some hypocrecy in this PISCO FEVER of the late 90's and early 2000's.

I have a close friend of mine that produces superb and outstanding piscos (for self consumption and family&friends) and I know the costs that are involved in the process.

It's hard for me to understand why you can find at liquor stores and supermakets a lot of pisco bottles of 500cc that are over 50 soles.....
That's insane for christ sake!

I understand that they use great quality grapes (as well as my friend), fancy glass bottles, fancy corks and fancy boxes, they pay marketing expenses, they have oenologysts and pisco technicians, overhead, they pay ISC, IGV and whatever is needed but come on!!!!!!!!!!! 50 soles for a 500cc pisco bottle is a fantasy!

Comparing pisco and scotch whisky, a well reputated scotch is around 85.00 soles (retail price). Bottles come from Scotland so you have to pay freight, shipping company, port authorities and agents, duty, taxes, customs, custom agents and so on! ... Scotch whisky spends huge marketing expenses (catalogs, raffles, samples, souvenirs, and so on), the bottles rest in oak for 12 years, it also pays and overhead, sales expenses, IGV and ISC. And yeah, they even have great profits!!!!

So, how in this world you can explain me that several pisco brands have piscos that can reach more than 75 soles (if 500 cc is over 50 soles then 750cc is over 75 soles, just simple mathematics) while a recognized and well reputated scotch whisky is around 85 soles?

Unfortunely, some pisco makers caught the PISCO WAVE/FEVER for their own benefit!, and they are not only peruvian with italian roots, there are also peruvian with chinese, british and american roots.

You can imagine that profit that those pisco makers have?, the money they are making?  Is this the way that pisco makers promote the consumption of pisco?

Regards,

Arturo V.G.

jcwong says :
28-02-08,11:12:47

pisco and prose go together beautifully davicho, nice lines.
too bad hans is not commenting, you brought up some issues
I had totally missed in my anger and resentment.

I was blinded by my cheap patriotism but your mellow ways have brought back my good sense. i forgot i have 2 passports and a resident permit but they all say where i was born.
i dont have a problem saying im a proud peruvian by the way, many
people ive met feel very proud about a lot less.
we are mutts mixed with mutts and we love it.

resenmentandhatred=bad
pisco=peru

jcwong says :
28-02-08,12:18:57

good point arturo vg, the last time i was in peru about 4 yrs ago, an uncle of mine who works in the industry (hes a consulting agricultural engineer) brought me a bottle of ica pisco as a gift (plain 1 liter bottle unlabeled etc) which was just fine.
i remember he told me you can drive around the valley and buy decent stuff for very little.

the quality was always there, it comes from the technique, why the super high prices? even cartavio aged rum (which is delicious and as good as dominican or cuban rum) is cheaper. liquor prices have gone up all over the world but even here in athens johnny walker red goes for about 18-20 euros and single malt 12 yr mccallan for about 34, makers mark (a great aged bourbon) goes for about 24 euros but the local (lima) prices for a half liter of pisco are absurd.

whats with the small bottle anyway? maybe hans knows.

jcwong says :
28-02-08,12:18:58

good point arturo vg, the last time i was in peru about 4 yrs ago, an uncle of mine who works in the industry (hes a consulting agricultural engineer) brought me a bottle of ica pisco as a gift (plain 1 liter bottle unlabeled etc) which was just fine.
i remember he told me you can drive around the valley and buy decent stuff for very little.

the quality was always there, it comes from the technique, why the super high prices? even cartavio aged rum (which is delicious and as good as dominican or cuban rum) is cheaper. liquor prices have gone up all over the world but even here in athens johnny walker red goes for about 18-20 euros and single malt 12 yr mccallan for about 34, makers mark (a great aged bourbon) goes for about 24 euros but the local (lima) prices for a half liter of pisco are absurd.

whats with the small bottle anyway? maybe hans knows.

Davicho says :
1-03-08,03:33:35

JC,
thank you kindly for the kudos. I just came back to reread my entry and found out some typos and misspellings. I do my darnest to speak and write carefully, and it always annoys me to find typos. We don't have the benefit of proofreading before posting , let alone writting wisely in a foreign language.
I want to commend you for your galant acceptance of your 'traspie' (some things can't be translated). I would email you a glass of pisco if the technology allowed.
Peru has an indisputable wisdom built into their national psyque. I don't know if it is genetic or a gifr of the Holly Spirit. But it is there, and we would so well to recognize and stoke it.
We would do well, on both sides of the border to remember that "La historia no se repite, pero rima" or "history does not repeat but it rimes" The pisco issue carries a strong symbolism and I would hope that their is plenty if good minds among our neighbors to see it for what it is. But we all know the denial is not a just a river in Egypt. So don't hold your breath.
No question that we should all work to together to build friendships and close ties. However, without honesty all those efforts are futile.  
Please forgive if I should a little preachy here.

jcwong says :
3-03-08,04:53:41

thanks for the pisco offer, im glad to see concensus among
at least some peruvians, although on the pisco subject im sure
most of us will agree that there is no issue.

i dont think there are any good feelings let alone good intentions coming from our neighbors, and to be honest im not sure why...we certainly never wanted anything from down there.
In time our neighbors will become less relevant i hope, since peru as a country should have higher aspirations.

the idea is that  peruvians will go on making and drinking pisco and eating great food and doing all the things they always did and  hopefully more and more peruvians will live the good life year after year...

some of us were lucky enough to grow up in middle class environments and enjoyed all the privileges of living in a place rich in history, tradition, good climate, excellent food, etc etc (the so called "good things in life", our country has tons of them) and as the country recovers and advances economically and politically more and more peruvians will have the same memories.

anyway, i dont think hans' battle is worth getting upset about since there is nothing to argue about.
peru is certainly a country worth defending but not over such a trivial subject.


En realidad mi reacción fue un poco desabrida pero la verdad es que esta pagina web no era lugar para poner cualquier tontería ya que es leída por mucha gente, no solo peruanos y extranjeros en lima. El editor se equivoco garrafalmente. Además de insultar a muchos, dudo que yo sea el único que lo tomo tan mal, no contribuyo mucho al tema.

Saludos y disculpas otra vez a todos

Arturo V.G. says :
3-03-08,07:47:14

YESTERDAY, SUNDAY MARCH 1ST I HAD A LUNCH AT PLAYA BLANCA (FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW, A FANCY BEACH IN ASIA. THE KINDA PLACE WHERE PEOPLE GO TO BEACH CARRYING COOLERS WITH DOM PERIGNON AND STRAWBERRIES, CAVIAR BELUGA AND LOBSTERS FROM MAINE.... HUACHAFOS WAITING TO GET A SHOT FROM SOME PAPARAZZIS, COSAS MAGAZINE IF THEY'RE LUCKY ENOUGH HAHA!)

THE LUNCH WAS PRETTY COOL BY THE WAY..... GREAT FOOD, GORGEOUS GIRLS (DANG, I'M MARRIED SO IT WAS LIKE A TORTURE HAHA), AND OLD FRIENDS.

AFTER A COUPLE OF BEERS AND SOME APPETIZERS, SOMEBODY OPENED A FANCY PISCO BOTTLE (YEP, A FANCY 500cc. PISCO THAT WAS BOUGHT AT LICORERIA EL POZITO FOR THE FUNNY AMOUNT OF 65 SOLES).

WHILE THE BOTTLE WAS RUNNING OUT (THE PISCO WAS FINE, CAN'T COMPLAIN), I LEFT THE LUNCH FOR 5 MINUTES AND WENT TO MY CAR TO GET A PISCO ACHOLADO THAT MY FRIEND PRODUCES NEAR CHINCHA. UNLABELED, RUSTIC, TOTALLY UNKNOWN. IT'S PRODUCTION COST, PROLLY BETWEEN 11.00 - 13.00 SOLES. I REPEAT, ONLY THE COST OF THE SPIRIT, BOTTLE AND CORK.

WHEN I GET BACK TO THE LUCH, WE PUT BOTH BOTTLES TO TEST!

BEFORE TASTING THEM, IT WAS LIKE DAVID AND GOLIATH... THE COMMENTS WEREN'T ENTHOUSIASTIC FOR DAVID.

AFTER THE BATTLE..... WHERE BODY, COLOR, AROMA AND STRENGHT WERE TESTED BY OLD PISQUEROS AND CONOSSIEURS, THE WINER WAS MY UNLABELED 13 SOLES BOTTLE. THE FANCY PISCO ENDED UP TOTALLY ASHAMED.

I'M NOT ARGUING FOR THE AMOUNT.  WHAT'S 65 SOLES?....  A COUPLE OF BURGERS AND A DESSERT?... GAS FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS?, 4 TICKETS TO THE MOVIES, NO POP CORN AH!,  I THINK IT WAS THE GAS I SPENT TO REACH PLAYA BLANCA WITHOUT INCLUDING PEAJES.

WHAT I TRY TO SAY IS THAT 65 SOLES IS "PEANUTS" FOR ANY/EVERY LIP REVIEWER.

THE THING IS THAT IT MAKES ME SICK PAYING 65 SOLES FOR THAT PISCO..... IT'S HARD FOR ME TO PAY THEIR ASTRONOMIC PROFITS.
IS IT FAIR?...... DO THEY WENT TO AUSTRIA TO DEVELOP A RIEDL PISCO GLASS TO PROMOTE PISCO ALL OVER THE WORLD RATHER THAN MAKING A FORTUNE?...

KIND REGARDS!

ARTURO V.G.

PD, JC WONG, IF YOU VISIT LIMA AGAIN BUDDY, JUST LET ME KNOW AND WE'LL TRY SOME GOOD PISCOS!

Davicho says :
3-03-08,09:04:34

Well compadres,

good points all around. I am semi-reluctant to continue to add to any controversy because my nature is not a problem maker, I am a problem solver. I credit my inca roots for that (my european roots are credited with the days I feel usurero), and like or not we serve as gage of our own temperature.
I firmly believe that the creative cultural forces are in Peru. No egocentrims here. I don't want to provide examples because it would be distracting to the main problem. So let me make my point quickly:
I suggest that we should try to help our chilean brothers and immitators out of the bottle in which they are trapped. 'Enfrascados' is the better term, and with that we can all dance along the yellow brick road to friendship and good will.
To that end lets call all those diluted destilates that are made (on all sides of the border, including Colombia and Argentina), under the name 'Elqui'. We must discard the term aguaardiente becasue it already has a lesser name to it. All producers deserving to call their product 'Pisco' must include on the labels a reference to 'Metodo Peruano' o 'Metodo Peru'. Similar to the labeling norms followed in California and other places that give credit to the 'Metode Champenoise' when marketing their bubbly. It actually helps their sales and it does not hurt the French producers because the consumers are known to reserve the original product for consumption on their special ocassions.
So in Peru some lesser destilates wheter in a fancy bottle or not, would be called 'Elqui'. For the benefit of the new comers to this debate, this is the name of the community that leads in destillation products in Chile and that seeks a shortcut to fame by abrogating the name "Pisco". As a result, we can help them become famous marketing their 'Elqui; all over the world, and they have so much of it that we can even allow its sale in Peru (as an elqui). Taxes generated can be invested in promoting pisco. If later some politician has the brilliant idea to rename the Yanamayo prison al Elqui Prison, that can always be left to a future international agreement.  
But compadres, don't fell too bad. The greeks have to live next to the tuks for centuries, and the finish and swedes next to the russians, and lately George Bush has told the canadians that the artic sea is no longer canadian, because after it melts Bush's tankers need to use. Of course Canada is just another inconvenience for the George.
And keep in mind that the New Zelanders are growing sore after developing for years a style of Sauvignon Blanc that has made vineyards of Marlboro and Auckland famous all over the world. New Zealand producers have found out, too their dismay, plenty of imitators in the Maipo Valley, and they are stuck with a free trade agreement to boot. What is going to happen when Puerto Montt is renamed 'Puerto Marlboro'? I would want too keep my distance from our chilean partners and go into NZ as 'non-chilean friend of the Maori'. Vivimos juntos pero no revueltos compadres.
Compadres, we have to laugh. We have to be smarter than that.
I can already imagine some proud consumers of elqui sour with a brownish color and oaky aromas. hahahhahahah


Davicho

jcw says :
5-03-08,04:55:34

you're a funny guy davicho, the new zealanders and south africans dont even bother promoting their excellent whites, neither do the argentinians with their inexpensive but tasty malbecs (3.50 euros at carrefour), the greeks produce and consume as much as the french but they drink it like water or coke, without any fancy labels. maybe its the french's fault for trying to tell everybody that they invented good wine (liked the brits with the wheel).

thanks for the offer A.V.G., as soon as my second kid is born (early april) ill start planning a big family trip, its been about 4 years since the lastvisit. mancora looks like a nice unpretentious place, white beaches and 
all that good stuff. ive been to one of those private beach towns near asia, theyre very nice but i think the hype is going to ruin it for those
people that just wanted to have a quiet private beach house for friends and family. funny about the champagne and caviar, sounds like the hamptons in ny. i know its rough with the pretty girls, i live in greece!! can't have it all.


my mom goes back about twice a year and brings me coffee, tea, pisco and rum, but the last time she only found those ,5 liter bottles at the airport, crazy!! they should get serious about promoting coffee, the italians are selling illy espresso for 7.50 euros!! for 250 grams!!, my mom found britt coffee for a couple of dollars at wong, where they actually sell imported coffee!! crazy stuff.

anyway, i recommend a great new tourism show from the travel channel uk, this guy goes all the country in 7 episodes ("flavours of peru" ,filmed in '07) showing the best food from each region. he evens meets and eats with the family that owns the cartavio distillery!! much better than the usual crap.

saludos
jcw

Victoria LR says :
12-07-08,07:03:35

Dear Hans:
The price of any liquor has nothing to do with its quality. If you are a bartender you must know that. I guest you do not read the food section from the newspapers  about the review they do  in different areas (The Times) and also in television programs like the Food Network an others too. Anyone can find wine from  few bucks to hundres of dollars and be satisfied with the aroma , flavor and richness of the grapes made wine  so  Pisco too.   And I have to tell you that Pisco have been consume for my family in every party o reunion we have had , but also my relatives and friends . Hummm delicious cocktails made with Algarrobina, or with strawberries , chocolate , and of course el Peruanisimo Pisco Sour beside drinking la rica chela (beer) we always have Pisco around us even when we were children and that was 40 years ago and of course before us my parents and grand parents  ( a shot glass , una copita de pisco) and so. May be you grew up around people who consume diferents liquors, but in Barrios Altos, Cercado de Lima , Rimac, Miraflores ,Barranco, Callao,  Norte Chico, etc etc  has  been drinking Pisco for years and years . So Hans our Pisco has been always there , is not now that is popular , talk to our olders and they will tell you.  Take care Hans is good to know differents opinions. Expression is freedom not matter what we say that's why is good !!!
Hasta pronto  Victoria 

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