Drinks that Go Down Easy and Give You A Taste of Peru: Alcoholic Drinks to Try In Peru.

For some who dream of Peru, the taste of a Pisco sour fills their mouth. The name is a derivative of a Quechua word. It is a mix of lemon juice, ice, egg whites and Angostura bitters. The liquor is Peruvian Pisco-and it can be made with both lime or lemon. It came from Peru’s capital Lima and was invented by an American bartender in the early part of the twentieth century.

Pisco Sour is probably the national drink of Peru and it’s gift to the world.

If you have the time to go by Morris’ Bar where the drink was created then you will be in for a treat. There you will take a sip in the place where the Pisco sour was invented. Of course, there has been some discourse between Peru and Chile on who invented it. But the world agrees it was invented in Lima. It’s the national drink here and was spread in the 1930’s as the most popular drink in California. Chances are you may have already had one-but in Peru it’s part of the pastime and if you try one here it may be a little bit juicer.

When you travel to Peru the first thing you will notice is how freely in some towns the al-cohol flows. It’s impossible to say no when you have a crowd of people jeering and of-fering you a taste. Caja is a beer in Peru, it arrives in crates and is a popular social drink.

When you order a round they bring you it with two small glasses. That is, one for drink-ing and one for spitting. They toast and then the beer is poured over and over until it is

gone and when all that remains is the suds of the bottle; they pour that into the spit cup and offer it to the next person.

Another traditional drink in Peru is called Chicha. This is made from the Aminoc root or yucca root and is as-sociated though with maize. It’s made at home in the Andes mountains. Each area uses a different product to make Chichi.

The ancient Inca used the drink for rit-uals and there has been evidence found of mills in Machu Picchu; where researcher believe the drinks were made in mass quantities. The tradi-tionally prepared drink is disappearing from the country. Only a small handful of towns are still making it. But the point is they are still making it!

In the southern region you can buy it still. It’s sold in “chicherias” which is usually an empty room at a persons house. You can easily identify them-look for a bamboo pole that has red flags and flowers on it. It is sold in a caporal to be ingested on site. You can buy a liter and take it home as

Chichi-Traditional Peruvian drink made wit

well. People love it, say it reduces blood pressure and it is mixed with other things to make a variety of drinks.

Did you know that Peru is the country to have Coca tea? Not like hot cocoa, it’s literally made from pure cocaine leaves, but they use it for medicinal properties. So while this is not an alcoholic drink it certainly has a kick as well. The rich green leaves are still chewed by locals to help them absorb oxygen in the high Andes Mountains. They also say it stops altitude sickness in its tracks.

Most people have no interest in chewing these leaves, unless they are used to the flavor. That may be why the Peruvians created the tea, which has a lot of sugar and a lot of cocaine. It’s something that most travelers par-take of in large quantities while they are there. Just make sure if you have to go back to the states that you do not have to take a drug test.

Besides these hard liquors and beer, Peru produces it’s own versions of wine. Pisco is another item, a traditional brandy that is the staple of the sour cocktail we talked about earlier. It was planted by the Spaniards int he 17th century and according to legend the Spaniards named it Pisco. Thus, the Peruvians keep that traditional alive.

If you can think of any more interestingly alcoholic drinks to try in Peru, then let us know.

Sampling Peru will never be a disappointment. Just remember if you get involved in a group of people you will have to have more than a sip of alcohol. You might in fact find yourself drinking an entire bottle.

Coca Tea, made from the leaves of the cocaine plant, are used to reduce altitude sickness and absorb oxygen in the high mountains.