Some time ago I was speaking with my friend Roberto Berdecia, a renowned Puerto Rican bartender, about how adding a few “twists” to some cocktails can result in new variations that are well-received by consumers. With this in mind, I tried making some changes to the classic Sour served here in Chile, the ubiquitous Pisco Sour.
This is a classic drink that is easily found in Chile and in Peru and, for as long as the drink has been around, so has the fight about which country makes the best one and in which country was Pisco first created. The truth is that both Piscos are aromatically distinct, but they are also manufactured in similar ways, both using grapes. A classic Pisco Sour, regardless of which country it is from, is very hard to pair with a cigar. Much depends, of course, on when we plan to smoke and if we introduce any twists to the recipe.
Here in Chile, there is a trend among bartenders to decline preparing Piña Coladas, something that I believe is silly, considering that it too is a classic cocktail. Perhaps the disdain for it arises from the drink’s simplicity, but if I was a bartender and a customer asked me for a Piña Colada, rather than declining or doing it half-heartedly, I would set out to make the absolute best Piña Colada for my customer!
And this is precisely what Roberto and I were talking about. I mentioned to him that at home, as an aperitif, I often make a Sour that is similar to a Piña Colada, changing some of the ingredients. Since the starting point is a Sour, it obviously needs Pisco, but I reduce the amount and also incorporate Coconut Rum. The same approach applies to the simple syrup: I reduced the typical amount so that I could add sweetened condensed milk. The result is very smooth and reminiscent of a Piña Colada.
When we spoke, Roberto was posting online about a Piña Colada made with coffee and my comments were about the Pisco Sour variant. Regarding the coffee, I remembered the book “The Flavor Bible” from Karen Page Andrew Dornenburg, in which she writes that the flavor of mango combines well with many others, one of them being coffee, and this inspired me to try it with several recipes.
The final recipe ended up being as follows:
2 ½ oz. Pisco Malpaso 35 (if you can’t find this one, used one that is un-aged)
½ oz. Bacardi Mango
1 oz. Lime Juice
1 ¾ oz. Simple Syrup
¼ oz. Sweet Condensed Milk
¼ oz. Coffee Liqueur
If you don’t have coffee liquor, you can substitute with an espresso, but you’ll need to reduce the amount of pisco a bit, to maintain the aromatic balance from the other ingredients.
The cocktail is mixed in a shaker filled with large ice cubes. It is up to you if you want to double strain it, but if you are using an espresso, you’ll need the foam at the end.
Now that the cocktail is ready, it is time to decide which cigar could accompany it and the options are not as varied as you’d expect: it is a fresh cocktail, on the citric side, so it presents its challenges. For this reason, I selected a “Purito,” a cigar format that is convenient and easy to reach for, usually filled with chopped tobacco, with a medium body and very easy to smoke. Even if the intensity does not come across as medium at the start, it will certainly increase as the smoking progresses.
The cocktail is just as I expected: a sour with unmistakable tropical notes and coffee. I say “tropical” because the mango and sweet condensed milk immediately transport your mind to the land of Piña Coladas.
Cocktail twists, such as this one, are very easy to make, and the results are great. More than aiming for a perfect new cocktail, the goal is to take us on a magical journey, in this case to the coast of Puerto Rico, where I wish I could be now enjoying the warm weather and a cool cocktail, instead of being here surrounded by cold climate!
I hope that you can find these or similar ingredients and that you are able to recreate this pairing at home. It’ll be like going on vacation to your favorite destination. Let me know if you do and if you add additional twists to your recipe.
Philip Ili Barake
#GRCigarPairing
