A Pisco Night in DC

Chilean pisco? The last time I had a pisco sour it was in Chile, yes, 14 years ago, on a wine-tasting trip, heading out of Sanitago airport back home.

When we scored an invite from ProChile to attend an artesenal pisco tasting at the hot new South American restaurant Mercy Me DC downtown, we decided to make a date night of it.

An excellent move.

Several producers lined the intimate dining room in the back of the restaurant—with its own bar—and premixed cocktails had been selected to show off the range of flavors and profiles that pisco (a clear spirit pressed or expressed from grapes and coming in at 40 proof) can take on.

A buffet of Chilean-themed snacks, sliders, and desserts played off the drinks and formed a counterpoint the serious depth of pisco—and its ability to complement food.

Among our favorites were the empanadas and croquetas that also reminded us of Portugal, and other travels around Iberia. But the ceviche let us know we were close to pisco’s home of Peru.