Pisco Punch Cocktail

Pisco Punch Cocktail Story

With origins in Gold Rush-era San Francisco, the Pisco Punch predates the Pisco Sour by about half a century. After taking a liking to a new unaged brandy brought into the Bay Area by Peruvian immigrants, Duncan Nicol, barkeep at Parker's Bank Exchange Saloon, paired the Peruvian spirit with typical punch ingredients like pineapple gum and fresh citrus juice. It was rumored Nicol poured the now-forgotten spirit Vin Mariana into his punch as well, which would explain some of its wild popularity: the controversial apéritif wine contained an infusion of coca leaves for an extra kick. The devastating 1906 earthquake that miraculously spared Nicol’s bar paired with Prohibition, which effectively put Nicol out of work, nearly wiped the drink from history; however former co-workers kept the recipe alive long enough for San Francisco historians to document it.