The Land of the Pisco Sour

Here's an intersting & fun piece on Chile and Peru's squabble over which lays claim to the true Pisco, a very tasty liquor made from grapes and, imho, not nearly popular enough in the United States. (For what it's worth, the person who introduced it to me was Chilean.)

These regional product battles have been causing a bureaucratic mess at the EU--in particular, over Parma ham. An EU court has now sided with local producers, deciding that the famed prosciutto must not only be raised and slaughtered but also sliced and packaged in Parma to be graced with the name.

According to the LA Times piece on pisco, "In September, WTO ministers will meet in Cancun, Mexico, to consider a European proposal to enforce WTO-recognized 'denominations of origin' in all 146 member countries."

Comments

[Anonymous]

where do you purchase pisco in the US?

[Tom]

Pisco, hell, I just want to get my hands on a decent bottle of absinthe.

[Sara]

it's almost impossible to get Pisco in the States. Your best bet is to go to a Chilean (or, perhaps Peruvian) restaurant.

[david f]

does this mean that the eu and wto will prevent all of those ^*(%#^&*($^*(^$ fru fru drinks served in martini glasses from being called martinis?????

(please! do the right thing for once!!!!)

sk?l!
drf

[dragoon]

Makes sense. The US pushes "intellectual property" in the form of extended copyright enforced with state-backed DRM, the EU, lacking such innovations but rich with local culture, pushes these food trademark cases. Maybe we'll get less whines about McDonalds due to this.

[Sean]

Try beerliquors.com, unless you live in Utah, Michigan, Maryland, Massachusetts, Tennessee, or Kentucky.

[twistedmerkin]

Also, I picked up a bottle of Peruvian Pisco during my lunch break. I don't know the rules regarding sale of liquor across state borders, but try this:

http://www.martinwine.com

[Connery]

But it's just the hop, skip, and a jump from Tennessee to Kentucky -- if you really need this stuff.

[twistedmerkin]

Tom, try:

http://www.feeverte.net/absinthe-vendors.html

[Evan McElravy]

Pisco is indeed hard to find. A friend of mine -- largely at my urging -- spent a good part of last year trying to get a bottle in Qu?bec, to no avail. Perhaps in jurisdictions without governmental liquor monopolies, it might be easier, though it doesn't sound like it and, in any event, the SAQ is an exemplary state store.

[Anonymous]

So is there any place to purchase pisco sour in San Diego?
I was just introduced to the product by chilean person and is excellent.
John