Pisco Prickly Sour — After the Pisco Trail Through Peru

The Pisco Sour Pursuit in Peru taught me that foam is a personality and lime is a contract. Back home I swap half the simple syrup for prickly-pear reduction — desert terroir in a coupe glass.

What you'll need

• 2 oz pisco, 1 oz lime juice, ¾ oz prickly-pear syrup, ½ oz simple syrup
• 1 egg white (or 1 oz aquafaba for the cautious)
• Angostura bitters — three drops for the halo
• Ice, shaker, strainer, and a friend who claims they don’t like foam

How it comes together

1. Dry-shake all but bitters 15 seconds — introduce ice, shake again till the tin sweats.
2. Double-strain into a chilled coupe; dot bitters on foam, drag a toothpick for drama.
3. Sip before the ice remembers it has a job. Serve with salted nuts and zero altitude sickness.

Carl says: If the foam stands taller than your stories, you shook enough.