Pisco

A nearly clear, 90-distilled from wine grapes of the muscatel variety in Chile and Peru, this youthful spirit was first produced in the 16th century in Peru's Pisco Valley - though most Chileans would debate that fact.

The word comes from Quechua, and originally referred to the fired clay pots in which the Quechua stored their chicha (a local spirit). According to one source, "many producers have modern mechanical presses, but in some smaller outfits the grapes are still trodden."

Somehow, during the early '50s people outside South America began incorrectly interchanging the word "pisco" for "Pisco Punch." Although we like both potations, we don't consider them one and the same.