For this mini episode we made the Peruvian cocktail the Pisco Chilcano.

Instructions

1oz Pisco (a Peruvian brandy – we went with Don Benedicto)
3 drops Angostura Bitters (a little goes a long way)
Lime Juice (to taste)
Simple Syrup (to taste – again, a little goes a long way)
Ginger Ale (fill to the top)
Ice

Mini History

According to this site the Chilcano started out as a makeshift version of the Italian drink the Buon Giorno (which uses grappa instead of pisco). Italian immigrants to Peru in the mid/late nineteenth century replaced the grappa with the local (read: cheaper) brandy Pisco and the chilcano was born. About two hundred years earlier, Pisco was being developed as a local (read: cheap) alternative to the popular Spanish brandy, Orujo. It’s really a cocktail inspired by thrift and immigration.