Peruvian pisco inspires cherry cocktail
In Peru, there's more to cocktails than the beloved pisco sour. So when ThinkFoodGroup cocktail innovator Juan Coronado was researching drinks for China Chilcano in Washington, he took inspiration from another of the South American country's popular drinks: the Capitan, which he calls “the Peruvian response to the Manhattan.”
Like the sour, the Capitan is based on pisco, the colorless but potent grape brandy. But in developing something more elegant, Coronado wanted to soften pisco's formidable edges while also finding another source for the sweetness that typically comes from red vermouth and a cherry garnish. He decided to infuse the pisco with dried sour cherries (“guindas”) for a week or two, mellowing it and lending a deep red color. With dry white vermouth and a few dashes of bitters, “the combination is killer,” he says.
China Chilcano uses Peru's Amargo Chuncho bitters, available online, but Angostura make a reasonable — and widely available — substitute.
This summer, the Capitan will evolve again, Coronado says: “I can't wait to make it with apricots.”