Pisco Sour
Nightlife at The Ritz-Carlton, Charlotte got a memorable punch with the opening of the 15th-floor Punch Room, a modern ode to the craft cocktail in a drinking den-inspired ambience. Chief mixologist Bob Peters filled the menu with hot and cold spirits-based punches, artisanal infusions and from-the-shaker cocktails, like this sophisticated twist on a pisco sour.
Traditionally containing its namesake Peruvian brandy along with lemon, lime, sugar and egg white, the pisco sour is elegantly reimagined in Peters’ hands. “Everything is still there,” he says. “It's simply rearranged.”
The Punch Room’s innovation? Instead of shaking the entire cocktail with egg white for the traditional foam, Peters created an elderflower foam using St. Germain, lemon juice and egg whites to sit on top — a trick that literally and figuratively builds flavors during the sipping experience. “It’s like a cocktail that sits on a cocktail,” Peters says. “It makes the whole drink taste better.”
Ingredients
1 muddled lemon and lime wedge
2 ounces pisco
1 ounce simple syrup
Homemade St. Germain foam, to top
Preparation
Assemble the first three ingredients, shake well and strain into a cocktail glass. Top with the St. Germain foam.
The Punch Room
Nestled in the Uptown Charlotte hotel’s 15th floor, The Punch Room is a modern reincarnation of a drinking den which crafts delectable cocktails inspired by the 19th century clubs of yesteryear.