Did Victor Morris Invent the Pisco Sour?

Victor Vaughen Morris often receives credit for inventing the pisco sour. While the cocktail became wildly popular in the 1920’s thanks to the American expatriate, evidence shows that pisco sours existed years before Morris began serving them at his bar in downtown Lima.

In his blog post “The Origin of the Pisco Sour”, Nico Vera shares a recipe from a cookbook published in Lima in 1903, The Nuevo Manual de Cocina a la Criolla. Made with “egg white, a glass of Pisco, a teaspoon of fine sugar, and a few drops of lime……all of this beaten in a cocktail shaker” (Nuevo), this unnamed creole cocktail is strikingly similar to the pisco sour served by Morris. Because this recipe began circulating in 1903, this could prove the pisco sour was being made in Peru long before the 1920’s.

We may never know who invented the pisco sour. However, its popularity hasn’t lost momentum since the 1920’s. Recently recognized as one of the most popular cocktails in the world (Wolinksi), the pisco sour continues to win over discerning drinkers around the globe.

Check out Kami’s pisco sour and three vegan pisco sour recipes on our blog.

Works Consulted:

“Nuevo Manual De Cocina a La Criolla – 1903.” Edited by S.E. Ledesma, Issuu, 20 Feb. 2013, issuu.com/davidpino7/docs/recetario1903.

Vera, Nico. “The Origin of the Pisco Sour .” Pisco Trail, 9 Dec. 2013, www.piscotrail.com/2013/12/09/culinary-history/the-origin-of-the-pisco-sour/.

“Victor Vaughen Morris.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 25 Mar. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Vaughen_Morris.

Wolinski, Cat, and Helena Yankovska. “The 50 Most Popular Cocktails in the World (UPDATED 2019).” VinePair, 31 May 2019, vinepair.com/articles/50-most-popular-cocktails-world-2017/?fbclid=IwAR2QLQXeh5Vw_F1YaaUpyDlhu9Nc9I4HdaOD7dedVi-3YazgD-BiODCXEl4.