In need of a refreshing something for your park seat vantage, glass (or tumbler) in hand? How about a spirit, most famous as presented in its national cocktail, that two different South American countries claim themselves as originator? Friends, let’s take “paws” and demystify pisco, starting with Capel Alto del Carmen Reservado.

Produced by one of Chile’s two largest cooperatives, CAPEL (Cooperativa Agrícola Pisquera Elqui Limitada) sources the bulk of its croplands in Elqui Valley, a very low humidity environ, on the Southern end of the Atacama Desert, spanning from the Pacific to the Andes Mountains. In this particular bottle, an ancient and favored aromatic varietal, Muscat of Alexandria and Pink Muscat have been distilled and aged for 9 months in American Oak barrels. Ripe melon, tropical flowers and crushed almonds delight the palate, all on a soft, rounded mouthfeel.

Contrasting with Peru, Chile’s less harsh restrictions on production of pisco allows space for the current 1,200 members and associates of the co-op more freedom for innovation and nuance into their small batch bottlings, such as multiple distillations, time spent aging, and using fully-fermented wines. As such, there’s great appeal for fans of vodka and cognac respectively to check out this category!

Start your journey with the underdog, and go for Chilean pisco. And maybe save the egg yolk from your Sour to cook up for the pooch eyeing the counter.

🐾Cheers - Sheldon