The pisco sour was invented in 1920s Lima by an American bartender and became a national drink both Peru and Chile claim

world cultures & travelWikipedia1920s · Lima, Peru

The pisco sour was invented in 1920s Lima by an American bartender and became a national drink both Peru and Chile claim

the gist

The pisco sour is a cocktail built on pisco, a grape brandy, shaken with lime juice and sugar. Its modern Peruvian form was created in Lima in the 1920s by Victor Vaughen Morris, an American bartender who ran a popular bar there, and a Peruvian bartender at his bar, Mario Bruiget, later added Angostura bitters and egg white to the recipe. Chile has its own version, made with Chilean pisco and Pica lime and without bitters or egg white. Both countries claim the drink and the brandy behind it as their national symbol.

how it works

Pisco is distilled from grape wine, so it carries fruity, floral notes. Lime juice supplies the sour, simple syrup balances it, and shaking with ice chills and dilutes the drink. Egg white adds a silky foam on top, and a few drops of bitters add aromatic depth.

so what

The cocktail became one of the most debated drinks in Latin America, with each country insisting its version is the real one. Producers on both sides have said the argument itself keeps interest in the drink alive. Peru marks the pisco sour each year on the first Saturday of February.

the bigger pattern

Many classic cocktails have contested national origins, with rival countries each claiming a drink as a symbol of identity. The pisco sour shows how a bar in one city can spread through newspaper advertising and then become a national emblem.

fun fact

Peru holds a national Pisco Sour Day on the first Saturday of February.

Hampi was once one of the world's largest cities, until its Vijayanagara capital was destroyed in 1565

the gist

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.

how it works

The city was built around a fortified core with temples, markets and water structures along the river, supplied by an extensive network of roads and waterworks. When the empire fell, the city was not rebuilt, so its stone monuments were left standing.

so what

Hampi shows how quickly a great city can vanish after a military defeat, and how a ruined capital can remain sacred. Its ruins give historians a view of medieval South Asia that few other sites can match.

fun fact

The name Hampi comes from Pampa, an old name for the Tungabhadra River.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · text CC BY-SA 4.0

Image: Wikimedia Commons

source: Wikipedia ↗

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