In this viticultural conversation with SUYO Pisco founders Alex Hildebrandt and Ian Leggett, some of the topics we discuss include:

• How two born-and-bred Peruvians met and became friends in the world of American corporate finance, then turned their sights on celebrating the flavors and aromas of their beloved home country.
• What it means for a distillate to be “single-origin,” and how Ian and Alex went off the beaten path to find and partner with Pisco producers who are making truly remarkable spirits.
• How to think about Peru’s fascinating Geographic Indication for Pisco, also known as it’s Denomination of Origin, which specifies what materials can be used, where grapes can come from, and even how many times it can be distilled.
• Then we taste through SUYO’s inaugural offerings, a fruity, complex Quebranta made in the foothills of the Andes, and a sea-swept Italia bursting with floral and mineral complexity.
• Along the way, we cover the complicated topic of “purity” in different kinds of spirits, the age-old controversy of Chilean vs. Peruvian Pisco, a potentially record-setting pisco sour performance by Ernest Hemingway, and much, much more.

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