It's official: Times pronounces pisco big stuff

It may not always be ahead of the curve when it comes to spotting drinking trends, but The New York Times always catches up. Its latest coverage of a delightful South American spirit, in today's edition, begins this way:

Pisco, the clear grape spirit of South America, is emerging from the mist of history and bringing rich freshness to cocktails. In New York and other cities, liquor stores and bars that carried no pisco a few years ago have several now and are adding more, making it the fastest-growing spirit in the country, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS).

The new piscos are a far cry from the famously rustic, hangover-inducing stuff that was previously available. Top-shelf piscos are being made for Peruvian connoisseurs, and these newer entries are feeding the growing export market, often with an assist from American expertise, passion and money.

"Pisco is not quite mainstream yet," said Julie Reiner, an owner of Lani Kai in Manhattan and Clover Club in Brooklyn, "but it is gaining traction as the public learns about it."

Peru leads the surge, with pisco exports to the United States having nearly doubled last year, according to Veritrade, an import consultancy.

The full NYT story is available here. And, to read my report posted last summer on the status of pisco and the famous Pisco Sour cocktail, go here.

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