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Macchu Pisco & Combier Launch Party in San Francisco 11/19/09

10 November 2009 9 Comments

Macchu Pisco & Combier Launch Party in San Francisco

Thursday November 19th at 9pm, Indy Spirits Expo Afterparty

Macchu Pisco and Combier Present

‘NOW AVAILABLE’ IN CALIFORNIA PARTY

1 FREE Macchu Pisco Daisy cocktail, Come celebrate

$5 Pisco and Combier cocktails

Top Shelf Music provided by Romanowski

@ 83 Proof, 83 First Street (between Market and Mission)

NO COVER

Special thanks to our new distributor in California, Wine Warehouse.

follow @piscosf on twitter for more news and info :-)

The Facebook Invite: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/event.php?eid=176404807157&ref=ts

Join the Macchu Pisco Facebook Group for more goodies: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=18760511406&ref=ts

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As best described in bullet points by Daniel Gritzer in his Time Out New York magazine article. “Pisco: Getting to Know Peru’s Grape Brandy”:

  • Pisco comes in three main categories: puro (pure), acholado (blended) and mosto verde (green must).
  • Puro piscos are made from one type of grape, and are themselves divided into aromatic and nonaromatic categories, depending on the varietal used.
  • Acholados are blends of the distillates of various grapes, such as the delicate and floral La Diablada, produced by the Asher sisters.
  • Mosto verde is distilled after it is only halfway fermented, resulting in a much diminished yield. It is best sipped alone.
  • The most traditional grape for pisco is called quebranta, meaning “broken.” It was brought by Spanish explorers to South America from the Canary Islands, and was essentially “broken in” to survive the Peruvian climate, hence the name. Macchu Pisco is 100 percent quebranta, and it makes a less fruity and floral spirit. Other pisco grapes can be much more aromatic.
  • Pisco is different from Italian grappa in that grappa is distilled from pomace (the solid remnants like skin and seed after wine has been pressed), while pisco is distilled from freshly fermented grape juice with no associated wine production.”
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My personal statement:
2 years ago one a best friends who happened to be in the wine and spirits trade here in San Francisco kept trying to convince me to switch careers from Internet Marketing and Product Development to selling Peruvian Pisco. His reasoning was something like “hey man, pisco is going to be the next big spirit in America, you are Peruvian, you speak fluent English and Spanish and you grew up in the United States plus you live in San Francisco, you should sell pisco.”  I paid no attention to him whatsoever and kept secretly hating my 9 to 5 internet marketing hustle.
One day we went to Cantina, a cool little cocktail bar on Sutter street and I had my first pisco sour in many many many many many years.  Since I was 15 or 16.  I had “that moment” characterized in the animated movie Ratatouille where the evil food critic Anton Ego tastes the ratatouille and it sends him back to his childhood through his eyes.  Yes, I had rediscovered my love for the fine spirit enjoyed at every family gathering in Peru.
I got laid off in late December 08 and spent the next two months beach bumming in Hawaii.  In March 09 I returned to Peru for the first time in 9 years and through serindipitous circumstances I ended up supervising a quebranta grape harvest for Melanie Asher, owner of Macchu Pisco. We harvested tons of grapes and then I witnessed the entire pisco production process to the final result, a fine clear and very pure distillation. It was a masterpiece.  I fell in love hard with pisco.
Thanks to Guillermo Toro-Lira’s pre-prohibition era historical account, Wings of Cherub, about the Peruvian Pisco Punch cocktail invented in San Francisco, this story has been reprised. Pisco was one of San Francisco’s most preferred spirits in the pre-prohibition era.  Records confirm pisco imports from Pisco Peru to San Francisco going back to the Gold Rush era. This is what also what makes this debut so special, by drinking pisco we are bringing back a part of the original San Francisco pre-prohibition cocktail culture.
The people behind making Macchu Pisco are considered some of the best in Peru.  I have confirmed this over and over again through different conversations I’ve had with other pisco connoisseurs in Peru. This product has won more awards in America than any other pisco brand to hit this market.
So now we Macchu Pisco is officially launching in California and we partnered up with Combier, the original tripple sec from France since 1834, a spirit that also used to be popular in our San Francisco’s pre-prohibition bars. Combier is hands down one of the finest spirits I have ever tasted. Together Pisco, and the original tripple sec are making their way back to San Francisco. Pisco and tripple sec are also the main ingredients in a Pisco Daisy which is nothing short of an  amazing mix, thus the 1 free pisco daisy cocktail upon entry. Yes yes, we will also have the the classics available like the revered Pisco Sour.
So, I hope this little background helps me convince you the reader to come and celebrate with us.  Bringing these wonderful spirits back to San Francisco.  Please come and be a part of history.
Thank you,
Miguel

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