An eternally underrated spirit, pisco’s fortunes have been limited by a perceived lack of applications. None of its cocktails are casual a airs like a gin-and-tonic or a Margarita. That may change with Barkeep’s Whimsy Pisco. Much like the Plantation rum described below, Campo de Encanto has incorporated the input of bartenders to create this blend. After years of bringing bartenders to Peru to involve them in the distilling process, Duggan McDonnell and his team at Encanto have found that bartenders tend to be attracted to the floral high tones of the torontel grape. Barkeep’s Whimsy is therefore a torontel-heavy blend with an expressive, lush floral perfume that weaves itself beautifully into cocktails in a way similar to gin. While some floral piscos can be excessively light in body, Barkeep’s Whimsy maintains a full, rounded texture, giving it the weight to anchor spirituous cocktails or even to be a satisfying sipper on its own, served over ice, no lemon twist needed.
An eternally underrated spirit, pisco’s fortunes have been limited by a perceived lack of applications. None of its cocktails are casual a airs like a gin-and-tonic or a Margarita. That may change with Barkeep’s Whimsy Pisco. Much like the Plantation rum described below, Campo de Encanto has incorporated the input of bartenders to create this blend. After years of bringing bartenders to Peru to involve them in the distilling process, Duggan McDonnell and his team at Encanto have found that bartenders tend to be attracted to the floral high tones of the torontel grape. Barkeep’s Whimsy is therefore a torontel-heavy blend with an expressive, lush floral perfume that weaves itself beautifully into cocktails in a way similar to gin. While some floral piscos can be excessively light in body, Barkeep’s Whimsy maintains a full, rounded texture, giving it the weight to anchor spirituous cocktails or even to be a satisfying sipper on its own, served over ice, no lemon twist needed.
Spirits Type:
Brandy
ABV:
40.5%
Importer:
Campo de Encanto, San Francisco, CA
Price:
$49.99
Jordan Mackay’s writing on wine, spirits and food has appeared in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Decanter, the Art of Eating and many other publications. While Secrets of the Sommeliers, the book he wrote with Rajat Parr, won a James Beard Award in 2011, it’s certain winemakers that he credits with some of his most important tasting lessons.
This story appears in the print issue of Winter 2016.
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