Pisco Sour, the disputed national drink of both Chile and Peru. Made from Pisco (alcohol distilled from muscatel grapes) Lemon juice and sugar. Peru like to throw an egg white into the mix, Chile does not (hurrah for Dave!)

We enjoyed some Pisco Sour in Peru a few months ago and today we went to a small town called Pisco Elqui deeper in the beautiful Elqui Valley. This place is where Pisco was originally distilled in the early days and the original name of the town (Las Gredas) was changed to ´Pisco Elqui´ to help Chile reinforce their claim to the rights of Pisco Sour!

As you can guess there is a Pisco war going on between the two countries, and if it gets even more out of control we could be seeing them change the names of their countries to claim rights! (Pisco Peru and Chile Pisco?)

We had no plans of visiting the Pisco distillery in Pisco Elqui, it was another lovely sunny day so we thought we would just turn up at the town and explore. When we arrived we got as far as the main plaza and down one road before we found ourselves in the Pisco distillery bar.

Here we ordered a Pisco each, Emily a Mango Pisco and Dave a proper mans version of Pisco Sour (as manly as a drink involving fruit and sugar in a tall glass can be) Both were very tasty.

So feeling refreshed we thought about heading off, but then succumbed to more drinks, this time dave went for a Pisco 35 (35% with coke) and Emily went with the bar tenders recommendation and had a Pisco Albahaca which is the classic sour with the addition of fresh ??? leaves (any help Grandpa?). Google translate says basil, but if so it was a purpley minty delicate kind of basil...

While drinking these highly alcoholic drinks a bunch of locals appeared to play music for us. After 5 months of every slightly talented ´musician´ spotting us in a restaurant and rushing over to relieve us of our privicy and money we were slightly unimpressed. However they turned out to be amazing, Playing a classical guitar and double bass, an a woman with an fantastic voice we sat in the sun drinking away enjoy the music (may just be the alcohol though?)

The surrounding deserves a mention, the bar was perched on the edge of the valley so you have high rocks cliffs in the near background and between was a beautiful garden, if Monet had gone to Chile then this is what he would of produced. It was filled with swathes of native plants all drifting into each other. Great clouds of green, corn and dusky purple with stone rills of water trickling inbetween...

So our day ´exploring´ the town consisted of sitting in a garden drink too much alcohol. We staggered back to our bus and then back to Vicuña where Dave went swimming and Emily slept of her hangover....