San Francisco’s Pisco Punch

During the California gold rush around 1849, the Peruvian liquor, pisco, was readily available in San Francisco, and it was at the Bank Exchange bar where the famous drink Pisco Punch was invented. Pisco is a brandy made entirely with grapes cultivated mostly in the desert valleys near the port of Pisco, in Peru; It is made using traditional ways of production that have changed little since the 16th century.

Duncan Nicol, last owner of the Bank Exchange & Billiard Saloon, kept serving the Pisco Punch during the late 1800s, a powerful drink that became quite popular, which, it was said, “…went down like lemonade but came back with the kick of a Missouri mule.” In 1937, Harold Ross, founder of The New Yorker, wrote: “In the old days in San Francisco there was a famous drink called Pisco Punch, made from Pisco, a Peruvian brandy… pisco punch used to taste like lemonade but had a kick like vodka, or worse.” The previous owners, Orrin Dorman and John Torrence, gave the drink recipe to Nicol, and he maintained the tradition of secrecy they had established to the end of his days.

The original recipe was lost when Duncan Nicol passed away; however, according to the booklet Secrets of Pisco Punch Revealed by William Bronson, it may have been recovered for good.

The Bank Exchange was located in south-east corner of the intersection of the Montgomery and Washington streets, in the Montgomery Block building, where the Transamerica Pyramid now stands.

If you are lucky to have a bottle of the Peruvian liquor, pisco, you may want to try your barman skills at home and enjoy a Pisco Punch, just follow this old recipe from the booklet mentioned above:

INGREDIENTS:
- 1 bottle (24 oz) of Peruvian pisco
- 10 oz fresh lemon juice
- 1 fresh Pineapple cut in squares
- 16 oz distilled water
- Gum syrup
- A number of Ice cubes (to cool up the mix)

METHOD: Put the squares of pineapple in a bowl with gum syrup to soak overnight. In the next morning, mix in a big bowl: 8 oz of the gum syrup with all the ingredients but not the pineapple squares.
Do not keep the ice cubes too long to avoid dilution.
Use 3 or 4 oz punch glasses. Add one of the pineapple squares in each glass.
You may add more lemon juice or gum syrup for taste.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pisco_punch
http://www.sunpopblue.com/Frisco-Tales/The-Secrets-of-Pisco-Punch-Revealed-The-Lost-Recipe.html
http://www.gourmet.com/magazine/1950s/1957/09/pisco_punch