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Pisco / Feature Articles

by
Natali Quintana

Nationalism is defined as “the devotion to the interests or culture of one's nation.” National identity through food is a strong phenomenon that occurs throughout the globe. As boundaries (both cultural and geographical) feel threatened by outside influences, countries feel a need to focus on national symbols that represent their culture and nation. In this article, we will take a look at a particular drink from Peru that could’ve remained unknown if it weren’t for the transformations and threats, which encouraged it to become a national symbol for Peruvian culture.

We need to travel back in time in order to understand, how Pisco came to this culture and why it is so unique to it. It was back in the XVI century when grapes first arrived in Peru, brought by Marques Francisco de Caravantes from the Canary Islands. Chronicles from the time indicate that it was in Marcahuasi, Cuzco where the first vineyards in South America where established. However, it was in the valleys of Ica where these vineyards expanded further due to the favorable climatic conditions and the skills of ancient Peruvians who invented a system for irrigating this arid coastal desert.

The word Pisco was first used as the name for a town in Ica. It was a main commercial port serving sea exchanges with Spain. Production of wine in the area was huge and exportations to Spain began increasing. However, because of the fear of competition, restrictions were made. This encouraged people in haciendas to intensify the drink and expand their production of aguardiente from Peruvian grapes.

This product rapidly became a popular drink because of its own particular characteristics. It was soon named Pisco, a name that has three origins. Pisco is a Quechua word that translated to English means "bird," it was the condor which stood out among all the other birds in the region. It is also the city and name of a town that belongs to the Ica valley where the grape production originated. Here the local potters (who were also called piscos) crafted large clay jars used to ferment chicha and other alcoholic beverages.

As the production of grapes grew Pisco became a popular drink, it expanded to other regions in Peru and also to neighboring countries. One that is important to mention is Chile. When the production of Chilean Pisco began, it took a different form. Peruvian Pisco is distilled to about 40 percent alcohol and bottled without any addition of water, however Pisco in Chile was distilled to 90 percent alcohol and then mixed with water.

Chilean Pisco's production developed and it too gained a big market. This led to certain disputes which put Pisco in the center of a growing trade dispute between Peru and Chile over which country had the right to market the liquor under that name (a name which originated in a Peruvian region and culture).

Pisco has become the center of an economical and political turmoil between these countries, ultimately becoming a tool for cultural embodiment. The sudden growth of commerce and marketing of Chilean Pisco made Peruvians aware of what was being“stolen” from their culture. Peruvians weren’t generally recognized for their patriotism at the time, however, this incident initiated a massive campaign promoting Pisco as a national icon of the culture, and its consumption began being marketed everywhere in Peru.

Pisco is also the basis for Peru's most famous cocktail, the Pisco Sour. This iconic Peruvian-drink has taken a whole new social persona in Peruvian culture; it now has its own day dedicated to it, "Pisco Sour Day" on the first Saturday of every February. Consequently, Pisco has become a symbol of Peruvian pride and nationality.

In addition, this issue has raised the question of authenticity of the Chilean Pisco. Arjun Appadurai says, “authenticity measures the degree to which something is more or less what it ought to be” (1986). To Peruvians, Chilean Pisco will never be authentic to their culture, starting from the usurpation of its name to its form. The original production form was changed for Chilean Pisco, and its following variations will never equal the quality of true Peruvian Pisco. Hegel’s “Owl of Minerva” reinforces the argument that this criterion of authenticity wouldn’t have emerged if its subject matter hadn’t been significantly transformed (Appadurai 1986).

Therefore, if Chile hadn't have started their large production of their variations of Pisco, maybe this drink wouldn’t have become the important symbol of pride and nationalism needed to reinforce Peruvian culture. Consequently, this demonstrates how a culture, when threatened either by the absence of a symbolic representation of the country or when the subject matter is transformed, develops a feeling to search for an authentic and unique symbol that gives them back a sense of unity and national identity.