Pisco, the key ingredient in a Pisco SourThe bar: Tin Table, 915
Published 7:00 am Thursday, July 9, 2009
Pisco, the key ingredient in a Pisco SourThe bar: Tin Table, 915 E. Pine St. The drink: Pisco SourThe bartender: Amber Gephart, the bar managerAt 8 p.m. on a Wednesday night, I’m fortunate enough to snag one of the Tin Table’s last remaining barstools. It’s not a big bar, just a bustling little hole in the wall upstairs from Oddfellows. There are lots of couples on dates here– probably because the soft lighting and exposed brick wall make for a classy, romantic atmosphere. I’m instantly charmed.Bar manager Amber, a slim redhead with a bob, is charged with making the drink in question, a Pisco Sour. She tells me that while the Tin Table’s only been open for about four months, she’s been the Century Ballroom’s bar manager for eight years. When I pop the question (you know, “Will you make me your favorite drink?”) Amber nods– she’s all business– and bends down to pluck an egg from the mini-fridge behind the bar. “Are you afraid of this?” she asks, holding the egg between her thumb and forefinger. “Not at all,” I say, and watch her muddle some limes into the bottom of a glass, then add the egg white. The name of the drink comes from the copious amount of pisco, a Peruvian liquor, that comprises 95% of what’s in the glass. Aside from the limes and the egg white (and, sometimes, syrup), that’s all there is to it — though to create that milky, frothy head, you’ve got to shake the sucker like a tambourine. Topped with cinnamon, the drink comes off like a hot toddy: it’s boozy and comforting. I can’t necessarily imagine going on a Pisco Sour bender, but with its high alcohol content, it’s definitely the perfect beverage to kick off an evening of boozing.
