Bergamot Sour – Vinas de Oro Italia
Today I am presenting two different drinks to you. First, a cocktail by fellow Drinkstagramer Philipp using pisco and Italicus. However, besides that I am also showing you my version of the drink, I call the “Cedro Sour”. Instead of pisco, I used a Blanch Armagnac and of course I could not help myself, but to throw in a citrus eau de vie.
Pisco is one of those spirits, I think I am familiar with, but to be honest I do not know that much about. What I know is, that in Peru there are different grape varieties from which it is allowed to distil Pisco. In this case, the “aromatic” Italia grapes grow on the vineyards of the Vinas de Oro Bodega. On top of that, “Mosto Verde” means that the must is not fully fermented before distilling. The on-shot distillation takes place on modern, steam-heated copper pot-stills with a volume of 1000 litres. Afterwards, the Pisco spends some months in stainless-steel vats before bottling without dilution.
Very “aromatic” grapes
When you taste the Vinas de Oro Mosto Verde Italia Pisco you instantly know the difference between a grappa and this grape “eau de vie”. There is so much more fruitiness in the taste. Furthermore, you will also find distinct perfumed notes reminding me of rose petals. Additionally, the Pisco has some spices and a certain fresh cut grass note. In conclusion, I like it very much and I know that it works very well in all sorts of cocktails.
A rather complex sour
Philipp a.k.a. Crazy for Good Booze came up with this elaborate sour recipe. Instead of just a base spirit, he combined Pisco with the bergamot heavy Italicus liqueur. Apart from that, he also used bergamot juice instead of plain lemon juice and lavender syrup. Besides making the syrup, this also meant that I had to wait until bergamots were available at my local organic supermarket to remix the cocktail. However, I am very glad that I did, because the recipe turned out exceptionally tasty.
3 cl Vinas de Oro Mosto Verde Pisco
3,5 cl Bergamot Juice
2 cl Lavender Syrup
1,5 cl Egg White (I used Aqua Faba)
Shake with ice – strain second shaker – shake twice without ice – fill into cocktail glass;
Garnish: Bergamot Zest;
The flavour combination of Italicus, Pisco, bergamot and lavender works perfectly. The floral notes of the liqueur go very well with the grape notes of the Pisco. Moreover, the lavender syrup also plays into this hand. The only criticism I have is that the drink is a bit sweet. However, through this additional sweetness it goes down very easy.
Swapping bergamots for Cedros
While I love bergamots, I tried to come up with my own version of Philipp’s drink. In the end, I came up with the Cedro Sour. The whole drink revolves around those special lemons. Instead of just using the Nardini Aqua di Cedro liqueur, I also added a bit of the Mühle 4 Cedro eau de vie. On top of that, I replaced the Pisco with the excellent Blanche Armagnac from Chateau de Laubade. Besides that, I kept the ingredients and the ratios as they were.
0,75 cl Mühle 4 Cedro Eeu de Vie
3 cl Chateau de Laubade Blanche
3,5 cl Bergamot Juice
2 cl Lavender Syrup
1,5 cl Aqua Faba
Shake with ice – strain second shaker – shake twice without ice – fill into cocktail glass;
Garnish: Bergamot Zest;
Less sweet, but less smooth
While the drink starts off similar to the Bergamot Sour, it soon takes a turn in a more lemon flavoured direction. The drink is also a bit less sweet, but therefore has complex fruit notes. You are rewarded with a mix of citrus and grape brandy flavours. Moreover, the lavender lingers in the back of the taste, too. All in all, I cannot quite say which of the two versions is my favourite. However, I guess the Cedro Sour is a bit less smooth than the bergamot flavoured version.
*The fact that I received a product reviewed in this article for free, did not – in any way – influence the rating of said product. The Italicus was provided by Perola and the eau de vie by the Mühle 4 Distillery.
