A few years back a good friend of mine began importing a clear brandy from Peru. He had distributed Peru's favorite beer, Cristal, before, and this seemed like a natural expansion for him. From a marketing standpoint, the brandy has a horrible name: Pisco. The origins of the name go back hundreds of years and have nothing to do with urinary matters or company abbreviations. For a while, we had discussed even changing the name of the product. In the end, he decided to stick with Inca Gold Pisco. His version of this historical beverage is crafted with the finest Quebranta and Italia grapes, aged to perfection, bottled in small batches in Peru and shipped up to the U.S.
In America, Pisco has a history that dates back to San Fransisco before the turn of the last century. It was the number one mixed drink in the city with the appropriately named, Pisco Punch. The recipe was a highly-guarded secret mixture which included pineapple and lime juice. It even earned its literary chops with mentions from Rudyard Kipling, Mark Twain and Harold Ross (founder of New Yorker magazine). But like many beverages, prohibition killed Pisco's popularity. Ever since, it's struggled to make its comeback into the American psyche and palette.
Now may be the time. A few small distributors have been putting out great Picso for a few years. Over the past five years or so, Pisco has caught the eye of the industry and mixologists. In San Fransisco, you can visit the Pisco Latin Lounge bar. In Atlanta, you can find Pisco in several of the more current bars, like Leon's in Decatur and Holeman and Finch Public House on Peachtree. Leon's Full Service in Decatur also serves up a great version of San Francisco's famous Pisco Punch, as well as a Pisco Sour, which I can personally endorse.
Why now, you ask? The real game changer has just approached the launching pad and is getting ready for take off. Portón's Pisco is poised to become the new 600-pound gorilla of the industry. They have publicly stated that they are going to commit $20 million over the next year to launch their Pisco. To the others already in the Pisco industry, this is a double-edged sword. On the plus side, it will not only promote Portón's Pisco to the American public, but the drink in general. On the other hand, it may just bury the smaller companies that can't begin to financially compete with such an advertising investment.
Back at Inca Gold Pisco, they are taking an optimistic view, thinking all boats will rise with Portón's promotions. Their hope is to promote and advertise when and where their budget will allow and use social media to increase awareness and create discerning fans. One of the beauties of social media is that it is not the size of the budget that matters like in traditional media, but how passionate your fan base is.
Either way it should be an interesting year or so for the South American libation. If you still have your doubts to this long shot (and I admit that it is), remember that there was a point in time that both vodka and tequila followed a similar road to acceptance in the U.S. market. Both were imports from a foreign country where they were widely accepted. Both were introduced primarily as a mixer (screwdrivers, margaritas, Harvey Wallbangers, etc.). Both have various options from call brands (Smirnoff and Montezuma) to premium versions (Grey Goose and Patron). Pisco is positioned in much the same way. As Portón's Pisco has proclaimed in one of their ads, "Maybe the next great vodka isn't a vodka." I guess we'll see.