Man, so Pisco Week, right? I almost completely missed it, seriously. It was like a Tuesday morning, I’m just scrolling through my phone, trying to wake up, and boom, this ad pops up. Milano Pisco Week. I’d seen stuff about wine weeks, beer fests, all that jazz, but Pisco? Nah, that was new for me. I usually stick to the usuals, you know? A good old beer, maybe a whisky sour if I’m feeling fancy. But Pisco? It just sounded… mysterious. And it was happening that very week!
My first thought was, “What the heck even is Pisco?” I mean, I’d heard the name, but never actually tasted it. So, I figured, why not? I messaged my buddy, Tom. He’s always down for trying new things, especially if it involves a drink. I shot him a quick text: “Pisco Week in Milan. You in?” His reply was instant: “Where and when?” That sealed it. We were doing this.
I started digging a bit online, just to get a lay of the land. Not too deep, just enough to see which bars were participating. There were a bunch of places listed, some I knew, some I’d never even heard of. We picked one not too far from our usual spot, a small place called “The Glimmer.” Sounded fancy, but figured it couldn’t hurt. I liked the sound of “new flavors,” and my usual routine was getting pretty stale anyway.
So, Friday rolled around, and we hit up The Glimmer. Place was buzzing, more than I expected for a Pisco thing. We squeezed our way to a little table in the corner. The menu was all about Pisco cocktails. I usually get overwhelmed by too many choices, but this time, it was different. It felt like an adventure. I decided to start with the classic – a Pisco Sour. Everyone talks about it, so I figured it was a good baseline.
The bartender whipped it up, shaking it like crazy. When it arrived, man, it looked legit. Frothy white top, a dash of bitters. I took a sip. Woah. It was tangy, a little sweet, but not too sweet, and that kick from the Pisco was something else. Smooth, but with a real fiery soul to it. Not like whisky, not like tequila. It was its own thing. I turned to Tom, who was trying his own Pisco creation – some kind of Pisco Mule with ginger. He just nodded, eyes wide, “Yeah, this is different.”
After that first round, we felt a bit more adventurous. We decided to hit another spot. This time, we went to a place called “Elixir Lounge,” which was a bit more upscale. The vibe was totally different – dim lights, chill music. Here, I tried a Pisco Negroni. Now, I love a good Negroni, so I was curious. It had that familiar bitterness, but the Pisco added a floral, almost grape-like note that changed the whole game. It wasn’t just a Negroni with a different base; it was a completely new drink. Tom tried something smoky, a Pisco infused with some sort of herb, and he kept raving about how complex it was.
We spent the rest of the evening bouncing around, hitting up three more bars. Each one had its own take on Pisco. One place served it with passionfruit, another mixed it with coffee liqueur. It was wild. I found myself actually thinking about the flavors, trying to pick out the different notes. I never did that with a beer! It was an experience, moving from place to place, tasting, comparing. We met some other folks doing the Pisco crawl, too, sharing opinions, laughing about some of the weirder concoctions.
By the end of the night, I was properly buzzed, but not just from the alcohol. It was from the discovery. I had gone from knowing absolutely nothing about Pisco to having a whole new appreciation for it. I found out it was a Peruvian thing, mostly, and that there were different kinds, like ‘Quebranta’ and ‘Italia’. I wouldn’t have known any of that if I hadn’t just gone for it.
Walking home, the city lights blurry, I kept thinking about it. How just seeing an ad, taking a chance, led to discovering a whole new world of taste. It wasn’t just about the drinks; it was about stepping out of the routine, trying something completely foreign. And that, I realized, was pretty damn cool. Definitely doing Pisco Week again next year, no doubt about it.
