Pisco Sour and Pisco Tasting: Where to Drink the Best in Lima

The pisco sour is Peru's national drink, invented at the Country Club Lima Hotel bar in 1920 by Victor Vaughen Morris (an American bartender based in Lima). The original recipe combines quebranta pisco, Peruvian-lime juice, gum syrup, egg white, ice cube and a few drops of Angostura bitters. Classic proportion is 3 ounces pisco, 1 ounce lime, 1 ounce syrup, shaken with egg white and served in cocktail glass.

Beyond pisco sour, pisco has four varieties —pure, mosto verde, acholado and aromatic— each with its own character. This guide proposes the six Lima bars where to try serious pisco and, optionally, the pisco sommelier worth the visit.

The historic bar: Country Club Lima Hotel

The Country Club Lima Hotel English Bar is where the pisco sour was invented in 1920 and where the original recipe is still served without variations. The bar sits on the first floor of the historic San Isidro hotel, with mahogany counter, leather stools and a 1927 fresco on the back wall. Bartenders are seniors —the current head has been at the bar 28 years— and know variations for different palates (more citric, sweeter, stronger).

The list has six pisco sour varieties beyond the classic: with passion fruit, with lemonade, with mosto verde pisco, with coconut foam, with raspberry, with italia pisco. The "classic pisco sour" is served at USD 18; variants USD 22-28. The bar opens 4 PM to midnight.

Contemporary bar: Carnaval

The Carnaval, in Miraflores, was ranked #6 Bar in the World by The World's 50 Best Bars in 2024. Barman Aarón Díaz's concept is contemporary cocktails with Peruvian produce: pisco sour with coca aguardiente, quinoa mojito, Peruvian tequila (an experimental cabuya distillate), all in versions reinterpreting classic mixology with Andean ingredients.

Twelve cocktails on list, each with a story written by the barman. The "coca pisco sour" uses coca leaves macerated in quebranta pisco —the most memorable version we offer our travellers. USD 16-22 per cocktail.

Gastronomic bar: Bar Maido

The Bar Maido, annexed to Maido restaurant, is Mitsuharu Tsumura's gastronomic bar. Nikkei (Peruvian-Japanese) mixology with sake and pisco emphasis. The "nikkei pisco sour" uses shiso (Japanese leaf) instead of traditional egg white. The list has 18 cocktails and 24 piscos for tasting.

The bar operates 6 PM to midnight, no reservation (35-person capacity). USD 18-26 per cocktail.

Hotel bar: Maras at the Westin

The Bar Maras, on the 30th floor of the Westin Lima Hotel, is the bar with Lima's best sunset view. The list combines classic pisco sours with international cocktails and a rotating monthly tasting of Peruvian wineries. More formal atmosphere than Country Club or Carnaval.

Table reservation a week ahead for sunset (5:30-7:00 PM) if ocean-view table is wanted. USD 18-22 per cocktail.

Specialised bar: Pisco Logia

The Pisco Logia, in central Lima, is the bar with the city's most extensive pisco tasting. Seventy-five different piscos on the list, grouped by grape (quebranta, italia, torontel, moscatel, albilla, mollar and blends), by winery (Caravedo, Tabernero, Tres Generaciones, Vista Alegre) and by type (pure, mosto verde, acholado).

Bartender Saúl Liñán, a pisco sommelier with fifteen years of experience, offers private tastings of six to twelve piscos paired with fine chocolate. Six-tasting: USD 65 per person. Twelve-tasting: USD 110. Two-week reservation.

Hotel private tasting

For travellers staying at five-star hotel (Belmond Miraflores Park, Country Club, Hotel B, JW Marriott), the private hotel tasting is available. A pisco sommelier —typically Saúl Liñán from Pisco Logia or Iván Olivera (Carnaval sommelier)— brings eight to twelve piscos to the guest's room or suite, along with chocolate, cheese, olives and mineral water.

The tasting lasts 90 minutes and covers the four pisco varieties with contextual explanation. Cost: USD 350-650 by number of people and pisco range. Three-week reservation.

The Country Club's pisco sour is not just any cocktail —it is the original recipe, served at the place of invention, by a bartender who has known it for decades. Any pisco sour elsewhere in the world is interpretation of this version.

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Experience comparison

For the historic classic: Country Club Lima Hotel. The original version without pretensions.

For contemporary mixology with Andean produce: Carnaval. The world's #6 bar.

For serious tasting with sommelier: Pisco Logia. Seventy-five piscos on the list.

For panoramic view with cocktail: Maras at Westin. Sunset over the Pacific.

For private hotel tasting: Private sommelier coordinated by Pisco Logia.

The four pisco varieties

To understand tastings, knowing the four varieties is worthwhile. Pure pisco: a single grape (quebranta, italia, torontel, moscatel, albilla, mollar). The simplest and most-used in pisco sour.

Mosto verde pisco: the most coveted. Must is distilled before fermentation finishes, requiring more grape per bottle (up to double) and producing a silkier pisco. More expensive.

Acholado pisco: blend of several grapes. The most versatile version, used in complex cocktails.

Aromatic pisco: italia, torontel, moscatel —grapes with natural perfume. Drunk pure, not in cocktail.