Pisco Punch

San Francisco's legendary Gold Rush cocktail: pisco, pineapple, lemon, and sugar — once called the most delicious drink in the world.

Pisco Punch cocktail made with brandy, served in a wine glass
Base
brandy
Glassware
Wine glass
Flavor Profile
sweetsourrefreshing

Ingredients

  • 2 oz pisco
  • 1 oz fresh lemon juice
  • 0.75 oz pineapple juice
  • 0.5 oz simple syrup
  • Pineapple wedge, to garnish

Instructions

  1. 1Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice.
  2. 2Shake until well chilled.
  3. 3Strain into a wine glass over ice and garnish with a pineapple wedge.

Origin & Story

San Francisco, 1850s–1870s

Duncan Nicol created the original Pisco Punch at the Bank Exchange saloon in San Francisco during the Gold Rush era, where it was so popular that Rudyard Kipling wrote about it as 'the most delicious drink in the world.' Nicol kept his recipe secret until his death in 1926; the formula was lost until modern bartenders reconstructed it from historical accounts, revealing it as essentially a pisco lemonade with pineapple-gum syrup.