Episode 251

SUYO Single Origin Pisco

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SUYO Single Origin Pisco

Episode 251

What’s shakin, cocktail fans? Welcome to Episode 251 of The Modern Bar Cart Podcast!

This time around, we’re joined by Ian Leggett and Alex Hildebrandt, the co-founders of SUYO Pisco, a company that celebrates the unique flavors of lesser-known PIsco producers from all around Peru. They’re on a mission to highlight distillers that use single grape varietals all grown in a single place, really magnifying and bottling a sense of terroir.

In this viticultural conversation with Pisco nerds and entrepreneurs Alex Hildebrandt and Ian Leggett, some of the topics we discuss include:

How two born-and-bred Peruvians met and became friends in the world of American corporate finance, then turned their sights on celebrating the flavors and aromas of their beloved home country.
What it means for a distillate to be “single-origin,” and how Ian and Alex went off the beaten path to find and partner with Pisco producers who are making truly remarkable spirits.
How to think about Peru’s fascinating Geographic Indication for Pisco, also known as it’s Denomination of Origin, which specifies what materials can be used, where grapes can come from, and even how many times it can be distilled.
Then we taste through SUYO’s inaugural offerings, a fruity, complex Quebranta made in the foothills of the Andes, and a sea-swept Italia bursting with floral and mineral complexity.
Along the way, we cover the complicated topic of “purity” in different kinds of spirits, the age-old controversy of Chilean vs. Peruvian Pisco, a potentially record-setting pisco sour performance by Ernest Hemingway, and much, much more.

Featured Cocktail: El Capitán

This Episode’s featured cocktail is El Capitán. To make it, you’ll need:

1.5 – 2 oz Pisco
1 – 1.5 oz Sweet Vermouth
A couple dashes of Aromatic Bitters

Combine these ingredients in a mixing glass with ice, give em a good, thorough stir – about 15 seconds – so that everything is well chilled and properly diluted, then strain into your favorite stemmed cocktail glass, garnish with a citrus twist, and enjoy.

A couple interesting things came up as we researched the Capitán. First off, the original instantiation of this drink was likely a “scaffa,” which is any cocktail made and served without using ice. So a simple mixture of brandy and vermouth, and you’re off to the races.

Secondly, there are as many ways to make a Capitán as there are a Manhattan. You can go with a classic 2:1 ratio of spirits to modifier. You can opt for a 50/50 version, which is actually what Alex and Ian recommend on their website. Or, you can do what we would automatically think if you asked me to make a Manhattan with a clear, un-aged spirit, which is to add equal parts dry and sweet vermouth to jack the drink with a little extra bit of acidity. And, like most stirred cocktails, when it comes to bitters, the sky is pretty much the limit when it comes to experimentation.

This episode was made possible with editing and sound design by Samantha Reed, Pisco insights courtesy of Alex Hildebrandt and Ian Leggett, and a little bit of interview magic by yours truly. This has been a Modern Bar Cart production, copyright 2022.

This episode is also brought to you by Near Country Provisions. If you live in the Mid-Atlantic and want to enjoy ethically raised (and delicious) meat from local farmers delivered to your door every month, then you need Near Country in your life.

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SUYO Single Origin Pisco

Featured Cocktail: El Capitán

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