Pisco Day: when is it and why is it celebrated?

The month of July is a month full of celebrations, not only the anniversary of the Independence of Peru, but also the day of Grilled Chicken and Pisco, the country’s flagship drink and which is also a Cultural Heritage of the Nation. Just as you read it, the day of the Peruvian distillate is celebrated every fourth Sunday of July. This date was established on May 6, 1999.

But it was not until October 18, 2007, that the National Institute of Culture of Peru (INC) recognized Pisco as National Cultural Heritage, initially under a Chief Resolution, the same one that was raised as a norm, with Law 30639.

In addition, and it is necessary to remember, that although the flagship drink has its day, the most famous cocktail made with it: the Pisco Sour, also happens on the first Saturday of February. This day was established in 2004.

Before the existence of pisco, what was drunk was wine, brought by the Spanish. However, that same drink began to be produced in Peru and such was the good quality of it that the kingdom of Spain led by Felipe II, prohibited Peruvian wine. Faced with this situation, the coastal grape producers opted for a totally different drink and that was Pisco.

Artificial Intelligence, through one of its best-known chatbots as ChatGTP, has made it possible to resolve some doubts, such as the case of the origin of Pisco and whether it is Peruvian or Chilean, this was the answer: In the case of Peru, it assures that it is a “original and exclusive product of its territory”, in addition, it speaks that it is produced mainly in the regions of Lima, Ica, Arequipa, Moquegua and Tacna. With regard to Chile, “pisco is also produced in several regions of the country, such as Coquimbo, Atacama and Arica and Parinacota.”

And based on what has been said before, chat GTP considers that pisco is both Peruvian and Chilean: “Both versions have different characteristics in terms of their preparation, grape varieties used and flavors.”

Pisco is a distillate of fresh musts of recently fermented “Uvas Pisqueras” and is produced on the Peruvian coast: Lima, Ica, Arequipa, Moquegua and the Locumba, Sama and Caplina Valleys of the department of Tacna. The pisco grapes are of the Quebranta, Negra Criolla, Mollar, Italia, Moscatel, Albilla, Torontel and Uvina varieties.

As for the types of pisco, today there is the cigar, the acholados and the green must. The difference between them is that the first is only made with one type of grape, the second involves different types and the last has more to do with the distillation process.

It was in April 2019 that the Peruvian pisco entered this book because 899 people tasted the drink in a single sip and consecutively in the city of Ica. The types of pisco they tried were: quebranta, italia and torontel. this event was called “The biggest tasting in the world”.