Pisco Ginger Ale Cocktail (Chilcano de Pisco)
Peru's favourite highball: pisco over ice with lime juice, bitters and a cold splash of ginger ale, fizzy, bright and dangerously easy to drink.
Servings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Per serving
Steps
Chill the glass
Fill a tall highball or collins glass with the ice cubes. Let it sit for a minute while you squeeze the lime; a cold glass keeps the drink fizzy for longer.
- 6–8 ice cubes
✅ Done when: the glass feels cold to the touch
Add pisco and lime
Pour the and the fresh lime juice straight into the iced glass. Use freshly squeezed juice, not bottled, for a cleaner, brighter taste.
- 60 ml (2 oz)
- 15 ml (1 tbsp) lime juice
✅ Done when: pisco and lime are sitting over the ice, ready to mix
Add the bitters
Shake in the Angostura bitters directly over the ice. This small amount adds a deep, spiced background note that balances the sweetness of the ginger ale.
- 2 dashes Angostura bitters
✅ Done when: the bitters have left faint reddish streaks in the glass
Top with ginger ale
Top up the glass with cold ginger ale, pouring slowly down the inside of the glass so you don't knock the fizz out of it. Stir just once or twice with a bar spoon, gently, from bottom to top, lifting rather than circling, to mix without losing the bubbles.
- 90–120 ml ginger ale
✅ Done when: the drink looks evenly mixed with a lively layer of bubbles rising to the top
Garnish and serve
Perch the lime wheel on the rim or drop it into the glass. Serve the right away, while it's cold and fizzy.
- 1 lime wheel
Chill the glass
Fill a tall highball or collins glass with the ice cubes. Let it sit for a minute while you squeeze the lime; a cold glass keeps the drink fizzy for longer.
- 6–8 ice cubes
✅ Done when: the glass feels cold to the touch
Add pisco and lime
Pour the and the fresh lime juice straight into the iced glass. Use freshly squeezed juice, not bottled, for a cleaner, brighter taste.
- 60 ml (2 oz)
- 15 ml (1 tbsp) lime juice
✅ Done when: pisco and lime are sitting over the ice, ready to mix
Add the bitters
Shake in the Angostura bitters directly over the ice. This small amount adds a deep, spiced background note that balances the sweetness of the ginger ale.
- 2 dashes Angostura bitters
✅ Done when: the bitters have left faint reddish streaks in the glass
Top with ginger ale
Top up the glass with cold ginger ale, pouring slowly down the inside of the glass so you don't knock the fizz out of it. Stir just once or twice with a bar spoon, gently, from bottom to top, lifting rather than circling, to mix without losing the bubbles.
- 90–120 ml ginger ale
✅ Done when: the drink looks evenly mixed with a lively layer of bubbles rising to the top
Garnish and serve
Perch the lime wheel on the rim or drop it into the glass. Serve the right away, while it's cold and fizzy.
- 1 lime wheel
The Story Behind the Dish
The chilcano appeared in Lima's bars as a lighter, easier-to-make alternative to the famous pisco sour, built simply over ice rather than shaken. Its name is thought to come from a traditional Peruvian fish broth of the same name, long believed to settle the stomach and cure a hangover, a fitting namesake for a drink meant to go down easy.
It became a staple of Lima's cevicherías and bars, where it is poured generously and often as the house welcome drink. Today it stands alongside the pisco sour as one of Peru's two signature pisco cocktails.
⭐ Why It's Famous
It shows off pisco's clean, grapey character without masking it, and its fizz and lime make it endlessly refreshing in Lima's warm, humid climate.
💡 Fun Fact
Bartenders in Lima insist on stirring the chilcano gently rather than shaking it, so the ginger ale keeps all its sparkle.
Lima, Peru
-12.05°S, -77.04°W
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