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Hans in London - Theme Bar & Restaurant Style

Well, I’m now back in Lima after a fantastic week in London! I participated in the London Distil fair held from May 20th to 22nd. We went as part of the Prom Peru delegation to promote Peruvian Pisco as a national brand. We took over 300 different brands of Pisco, but promoted Pisco as a whole in order to intensify the marking efforts abroad. It was a great success!

Several of the Pisco producers attended the fair as well, and were able to personally promote their own brands and make one on one contact with potential buyers and distributors. Our beloved Pisco was very well received and this year Johnny Schuler and I were in charge of the magnificent stand and of educating consumers about our pisco’s, history, benefits and versatility.

Prior to the fair, we were invited by the world-rewound Simon Difford, author of Difford’s Guide, for an invitation only event. He graciously hosted us so that we could speak to the top 14 bartenders in London about Peruvian Pisco. I got to show them just how versatile Pisco is, by preparing several cocktails, many of which you already have the recipes for. Truly a fantastic evening and a strong foray for Pisco into the London bar scene.

Here is an article with some of the comment and observations of one of the bartenders who attended the evening. Enjoy.

Till next week,

Hans

PS
Here is a link to another article that was published in the Comercio on Sat. may 24th, about the fair:

El Comercio Article

Theme Bar & Restaurant Style

London 19th of May

Half of the global drinks industry is in town this week for the London International Wine Fair which this year also boasts its own break-out show for spirits named Distil.

Although some of the big players in spirits are yet to have their heads turned by Distil, plenty are at Excel, joined by a number of smaller niche players.

The producers of Peruvian pisco brandy are firmly in the niche camp, but will be represented at the show in a bid to achieve some recognition among the top end of the bar sector. Peru and Chile dispute which country is the true home of Pisco, although the Peruvians assert firmly that they have been making pisco since the 17th century, while their rivals only started in 1937. Peruvian pisco is certainly more expensive, the two-dollar brands that are commonplace in Chile aren't to be found across the border.

I learned about pisco from a small Peruvian delegation who warmed up for the show with an education and tasting session at Simon Difford's splendidly-appointed Cabinet Room bar, it also doubles as his front room, in south-east London.

I felt I knew a little about pisco after reading Dale DeGroff's account of his recent trip there in April's Theme, but this was the chance to get some hands-on knowledge.

Leading the session was one of the world's foremost pisco experts Johnny Schuler, who conducted a tasting of different types of pisco, while his fellow Peruvian, bartender Hans Hilburg, made cocktails including the iconic Pisco Sour (to a 3:1:1 formula of spirit, lime juice and sugar syrup with added egg white), the Mosquito ( a pisco-based Mojito), the Capitan (a nutty Manhattan-style drink) and the Chilcano del Pisco (a basic mixed drink with lime and ginger ale popular with young Peruvians).

Johnny explained that while the climate of Peru was unsuited to growing grapes for wine, with high temperatures resulting in grapes with high sugar content, it was ideal for pisco. The spirit is distilled in copper pot stills and bottled at the strength it comes off the still, with 42 or 43 per cent being acknowledged as the minimum for a quality brand.

Saying all piscos taste the same is no more correct than dismissing vodka with the same broad brush. Johnny said there were four different types: the four non-aromatic grapes; another four aromatic types from the Muscat family; blended or acholado pisco; and finally the mosto verde spirits made from green spirit that has yet to be fully ferment and can be either aromatic or non-aromatic.

Anyone who's started to get their head round the 11 types of pisco should also know that there are five different regions all with their own terroir, and that in total Peru produces five million litres per year, the majority drunk internally.

The presentation gave mixed messages about the Peruvian attitude to responsible drinking: Johnny said it was traditional to throw away the cap after opening a bottle of pisco on the basis that the bottle would be finished in the same sitting, although Hans said he would only make a maximum of two Pisco Sours (albeit with three ounces of spirit in each) for a customer.
The appreciative audience included Glen Hooper, Rich Hunt, Erik Lorencz, Paul Matthew and Joel Constantinou, who had plenty of time to ask questions, although our host Mr. Difford led the way in this regard. And the group also had the chance to enjoy some delicious ceviche tapas as well as other Peruvian tapas; all in all an educational and entertaining start to the week.

Tom Innes

Wed., 21 May 2008

To see the original article, go to: www.thememagazine.co.uk/page.cfm/link=8

Click here to see exclusive pictures: (www.thememagazine.co.uk/page.cfm/Action=PhotoLibrary/libID=17/t=m)

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2 comments

Alberto Iglesias Farji says :
28-05-08,04:40:34