This book presents first hand historical documentation related to the history of pisco brandy in San Francisco, California. It includes oral histories, pictures of people, places and antique objects, advertisements, newspaper clippings, letters, legal documents, old cocktail recipes and more -much of it published for the first time. A fast to read book full of first hand historical information and an excellent reference book for any serious bartender.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By A Reader
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If you have read the same author's "Wings of Cherubs" you will know that he is a detail-focused historian with a singleminded obsession with the history of pisco, the peruvian grape spirit, in pre-prohibition San Francisco.
That might sound a little arcane, but it's important for any lover of historical cocktails: pisco was the drink of choice in San Francisco a century ago, and yet now so little is known about it in the US that even the recipe for Pisco Punch, once a must-drink cocktail for any visitor to the city, has been lost.
It's that kind of mystery that set Toro-Lira on a nearly decadelong hunt through old archives and newspapers and dusty manuscripts to try to discover the lost recipe (his reconstruction is inspired and delicious). That hunt turned into the magical-realist "Wings of Cherubs."
For those interested in the hard facts -- the clippings, the photos, the ships logs, and so on -- they are all collected in this book, "History of Pisco in San Francisco." It was a monumental research effort, and this volume is a gift to the rest of us who haven't the skill or the fortitude to do something like that ourselves. It goes beyond pisco to present a snapshot of SF history, and in particular the surprising Peruvian role in it.
That might sound a little arcane, but it's important for any lover of historical cocktails: pisco was the drink of choice in San Francisco a century ago, and yet now so little is known about it in the US that even the recipe for Pisco Punch, once a must-drink cocktail for any visitor to the city, has been lost.
It's that kind of mystery that set Toro-Lira on a nearly decadelong hunt through old archives and newspapers and dusty manuscripts to try to discover the lost recipe (his reconstruction is inspired and delicious). That hunt turned into the magical-realist "Wings of Cherubs."
For those interested in the hard facts -- the clippings, the photos, the ships logs, and so on -- they are all collected in this book, "History of Pisco in San Francisco." It was a monumental research effort, and this volume is a gift to the rest of us who haven't the skill or the fortitude to do something like that ourselves. It goes beyond pisco to present a snapshot of SF history, and in particular the surprising Peruvian role in it.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
As a Peruvian and Pisco lover, I found Guillermo Toro-Lira's book fascinating. I had no clue of the long history of Pisco in San Francisco, and how the Pisco Punch was part of the night lifestyle in the City. The scrapbooking style presented in the book makes it easy and fun to read. If you love to read about Pisco and spirits and want to know more about the city of San Francisco, you'll find this book very informative and entertaining. I am sure Herb Caen would've loved this book. Praise to Guillermo Toro-Lira for this contribution to the History of our Pisco and the city of San Francisco.
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