The chilcano is a delicious drink with Peruvian roots that is easy to make and is great for summer entertaining.
This refreshing beverage is best enjoyed on a hot summer day over ice and can be found in almost every bar in Peru.
If you love your Moscow mule cocktail, you will also love the chilcano.
The chilcano is a Peruvian cocktail that is easy to make with a few key ingredients like pisco, ginger ale, lime juice, and bitters poured over ice. The cocktail has many theories regarding its origins and name. This popular drink is even celebrated in Peru with an official week of the chilcano.
Read more to learn about the chilcano, the history of the cocktail’s name and origins, and how to create this famous Peruvian drink at home.
What Is Chilcano?
Chilcano does not require many ingredients to make. Part of this Peruvian cocktail’s popularity may be due to the simplicity and ease of creating a refreshing drink!
Don’t worry. You do not need to be an experienced bartender to make a good chilcano.
This cocktail only requires ginger ale, pisco, lime juice, and optional bitters with a lime peel for garnish.
It is crucial to use a Pisco that you prefer in this cocktail. Pisco is a South American spirit that is a type of brandy and famously known as the main ingredient for the Pisco Sour.
It is a higher-proof spirit made from distilled grape wine.
The grapes used in pisco originate from either Peru or Chile and feature a touch of sweetness or bitterness, depending on the production style.
The Pisco cocktail is even recognized and celebrated in Peru from January 11 to 17 as the official week of the chilcano.
Many events feature this fizzy cocktail if you visit Peru, from the classic version to many other variations depending on the bar.
You can always enjoy this cocktail anytime as it is delicious any day of the year!
The History of Chilcano
There are multiple versions regarding the origins behind the Chilcano.
One of the versions states that the cocktail was first created in Lima, Peru, in the early 20th century.
The writer Cadenas Mujica mentions that the first record of the consumption of chilcano as an imitation of gin was around this time.
Another version explains that the Chilcano cocktail had some Italian influences when Italians arrived in Peru at the start of the 20th century.
It may have originated when Italians used grappa, a type of grape brandy, and ginger ale to make the Buon Giorno cocktail.
Instead of using the Italian liquor, they replaced it with the Peruvian alcohol pisco.
The Name
You might come across the Peruvian soup that shares the same name as the cocktail.
Chilcano de Pescado is made from the heads of fish and lime, which could have been the inspiration behind the drink’s name as it also uses fresh lime juice in its recipe.
There is also another version behind the cocktail’s name. In the mid-1950s, Peru’s president, Manuel Odría, was provided with a pisco and soda beverage during a visit to the Chilca Valley.
He enjoyed the drink and asked for the creator’s name, a man named Cano.
When the name of the place and the name of the creator are added together, Chilcano was born.
The beverage’s history is hotly debated, and there is no certainty about the exact origins of the chilcano cocktail.
How To Make Chilcano
What makes the chilcano refreshingly delicious is the fizzy ginger ale and pisco finished with a snap of lime.
You can use various piscos such as Torontel Pisco, which has slight citrus and floral finishes, or more neutral-tasting pisco such as Quebranta Peruvian Pisco.
Here is a recipe to make the perfect chilcano cocktail. You will need the following ingredients:
- Ice
- 2 oz Pisco
- 4 oz of ginger ale
- ½ oz freshly squeezed lime juice
- Three drops of Angostura bitters or orange bitters (optional)
- One lime peel twist as garnish
Here are the steps to make it:
- Place your ice into a tall glass or a highball glass.
- Pour your pisco over the ice.
- Add the ginger ale and the optional drops of preferred bitters.
- Squeeze fresh lime juice over your beverage and stir.
- Place the garnish on top and enjoy!
Tips: Use a bottle of chilled ginger ale to avoid melting down your ice, which will water down your cocktail. If you do not have pisco available, the best substitute is white tequila. Some people prefer a sweet cocktail and add simple sugar syrup. For a more authentic Peruvian cocktail, you can add jarabe de goma, which is a simple Peruvian syrup.
Conclusion
The chilcano is a Peruvian cocktail that is easy to make and easy to drink.
This refreshing drink is perfect for entertaining, and almost every restaurant or bar in Peru has its version on the menu.
Try out the recipe and enjoy one of Peru’s most popular drinks at home!
Sources
- Liquor.com: Chilcano Cocktail Recipe
- Peru: Learn all about Chilcano Week and how to prepare this traditional Peruvian Pisco cocktail
- Inka Trotter: Pisco Chilcano
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Jorge Garcia is the founder of AmigoFoods, where he has spent over 20 years helping readers discover authentic Latin American and Spanish cuisine. Raised in a Cuban-American household, Jorge learned to cook at the hands of his mother and grandmother, carrying forward generations of family recipes. That heritage, backed by his family’s four-generation history in the Latin food industry, inspired him to launch AmigoFoods in 2003. With more than 1,000 published articles on recipes, ingredients, and food culture, Jorge’s mission is simple: make authentic Latin cooking approachable for home cooks everywhere while honoring the traditions behind every dish.