The capital city of Peru proudly and abundantly offers up the nation’s most celebrated libation.
Ica may be the pisco capital of Peru, but Lima is the place to be to enjoy all the different flavors of pisco. After all, the Peruvian capital is where you’ll find some of the best offerings from around the country. Here’s a look at where to drink pisco while in Lima.
To begin with, it’s not a museum, but a high-quality craft cocktail bar with a dash of education. The bar offers weekly pisco tasting events and cocktail classes, where you can learn how to make the perfect pisco sour from the best Peruvian bartenders. The staff will also teach you the process of making pisco itself. If you’d rather skip out on the mixology and are looking for something a bit more low-key, you can just order a pisco flight from the bar, and try to discern the differences yourself.
Piselli is a Barranco classic and local favorite. They have an extensive pisco list and all the standard Peruvian cocktails. Ask a server for a pisco tasting, and they’ll arrange a flight of pisco to your liking.
Ayahuasca is a craft-cocktail bar in a gutted-out colonial mansion that offers Lima’s most creative cocktail combinations. Pairing the country’s tropical fruits and rare herbs with pisco, the mixologists create flavors you won’t find anywhere else in the country.
Pisco Bar offers one of the more impressive collections of pisco. They carry a lot of independent, off-the-map pisco brands as well as all of the well-known, big-name brands. You’ll be able to get a taste of the more popular varieties as well as the most obscure.
This swanky hotel has been long known for serving up the country’s finest pisco sour to its distinguished guests even from way back in the day. It was at one time the go-to bar for visiting celebrities like Ernest Hemingway and Walt Disney, and has never lost its chic cocktail flair.
Juanito is another Barranco classic and a great place to have a conversation about pisco. They have personal service and knowledgeable bartenders who will talk your ear off. Juanito has forged friendships with pisco distillers throughout the years and offers a selection of piscos you’re like not to find at any other bar.
Befriend the local bodega owners and sip on some of their piscos. Peruvians are friendly people, and every neighborhood bodega will have a robust collection of Pisco. Talk to the owner, get his or her recommendations, and pour a drink for the two of you. You’ll make a friend and learn about all the great local piscos.
These recommendations were updated on September 25, 2018 to keep your travel plans fresh.
