Peruvian Pisco Sour with Fresh Lime, Silky Egg White Foam and Bitters

Chill two coupe glasses in the freezer or fill them with ice water while you build the drink.

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 4 ounces pisco
• 1 1/2 ounces fresh lime juice, strained
• 1 1/4 ounces simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water, cooled)
• 1 large fresh egg white (or 1 ounce aquafaba)
• 1 cup ice cubes, plus extra for chilling the glasses
• Angostura bitters, for finishing
• 2 lime wheels, optional garnish

Instructions

1. Chill two coupe glasses in the freezer or fill them with ice water while you build the drink.
2. Combine the pisco, lime juice, simple syrup and egg white in a cocktail shaker with no ice.
3. Shake hard for 20 full seconds. This dry shake is what emulsifies the egg white into the stable, meringue-thick foam the drink is known for.
4. Add the ice, seal the shaker again and shake for another 15 seconds, until the outside of the tin frosts over and your hands ache slightly.
5. Empty and dry the chilled glasses, then double-strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve to catch every ice shard.
6. Let the drink settle for 30 seconds so the foam separates cleanly into a white cap about half an inch deep.
7. Drop three dots of Angostura bitters onto the foam and, if you like, draw a toothpick once through them to feather the pattern.
8. Serve immediately, while the foam is still tight and cold; a pisco sour waits for no one.
9. Peru and Chile still argue over the drink's parentage, but the Lima version, built on grape brandy distilled without aging, is the one that carries the bitters on top. The bitters are not decoration: their aroma hits before the first sip and reads as spice against the sharp lime underneath. If raw egg is a concern, aquafaba whips into a nearly identical foam and the drink loses almost nothing.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

• Calories: 230 kcal
• Protein: 2g
• Fat: 0g
• Carbohydrates: 18g
• Fiber: 0g
• Sugar: 17g
• Sodium: 30mg