Celebrate Pisco Day in Lima, Peru this July
Because Peru needed an excuse to celebrate it twice, Pisco has two national holidays: Pisco Day on the 4th Sunday of July, and Pisco Sour Day on the 1st Saturday of February.
That means that Pisco Day falls on Sunday, July 26th this year, and Pirwa Hostels in Lima doesn´t need to be told twice! Drink will be flowing all over Lima, from half-priced drinks in bars and restaurants, to free drinks handed out by promoters in parks and plazas. The fountain in the Plaza Mayor (the main square of Lima) will flow with Pisco instead of water on this day- last year, more than 2000Lt flowed through the fountain!
A Quick Pisco Primer
Pisco is a Peruvian grape brandy which 
originated along the Peruvian Coast. It’s one of Peru’s premier products and is only produced in Ica (in the Pisco Valley), Lima, Arequipa, Moquegua, and Tacna. Its distinguishing characteristic is that it’s the only brandy made from the pure juice of the grape as opposed to rehydrated, fermented, and distilled residual material (grape skins, pressings), giving it a more complex taste and aromatic structure.
The name comes from the Quechua term for the small seabirds along the Peruvian coast, from which the civilization of Pisco (more than 2000 years ago), town of Pisco, and port of Pisco ended up taking their names. The Pisco were known for their ceramics, and a vessel for storing drinks took its name from them, eventually becoming the name of the brandy 
stored in these vessels during the colonial period.
During the 16th and 17th centuries the Viceroyalty of Peru was South America’s main wine producer, with production centered in the Ica/Pisco Valley, but little by little grape brandy production also increased and was sold throughout Peru by the Jesuits. In 1580 a ransom was even paid to Sir Francis Drake of 300 grape brandy bottles in exchange for hostages taken from the Port of Pisco.
Classic Pisco Cocktails- Get Mixing!
The most traditional cocktail and national drink of Peru is pisco sour, a mix of pisco, lime juice, cane syrup, egg white, ice, and angostura bitters (the same as aromatic bitters). Other classic cocktails include:
Beatríz: pisco, granadine syrup, cream, cinamon and cacao cream
Biblia: pisco, port, egg yolk, cacao cream, curasao, cinnamon and ice
Calentito: pisco with lemon and hot tea
Canario: pisco with orange juice
Capitán: aromatic pisco with vermouth
Chilcano: aromatic pisco with ginger ale, angostura bitters, lime, and ice
Melate: sweet wine and pisco
Pisco Punch: pineapple, lime juice, sugar, acacia, distilled water