The Cupid’s Cup is a delicious variation of the Pisco Sour. This simple pisco drink is a little sour and a little bitter, the perfect balance that you’ll fall head over heels in love with! Move over Pisco Sour, the Cupid’s Cup is here to stay!
Have you tried pisco before? If you haven’t, you need to mix up this pisco sour recipe variation ASAP so you can fall in love with it. If you have, no doubt you’re already in love with pisco, so you should also definitely mix up this cocktail as soon as you can! Pisco is a grape brandy and can only be made in either Peru or Chile (both strongly claim it belongs to them, and most pisco lovers have a preference. It can become quite a heated topic so I shall leave it at that!). Pisco has a smooth taste with hints of grape and apple, it also has a light herbal earthiness to it that I would liken to tequila – however Pisco is definitely unique and any comparison to another spirit will certainly fail.
The most well-known pisco cocktail recipe is, of course, the Pisco Sour. With the classic sour combination of lime juice and egg whites, with angostura bitters – you really can’t go wrong. And while it is delicious, whether you use a Peruvian Pisco Sour recipe or a Chilean Pisco Sour recipe, it definitely shouldn’t be where you stop your Pisco adventures. There are a lot of really great Pisco cocktail recipes out there in addition to the Pisco Sour, such as the El Capitán, Pisco Punch, and The Chilcano, today I am brining you a variation of the Pisco Sour that only strays from the classic recipe, but gives you a really different, and just as delicious, cocktail.
I love The Cupid’s Cup even more than I love the classic Pisco Sour – yeah, I said it! There are probably a few Pisco purists out there that will have palpitations reading that sentence! But while the classics are amazing and are classics for a reason, I think it’s just plain boring to not experiment in mixology! So I definitely recommend enjoying and appreciating the classic Pisco Sour, but also don’t be afraid to spread your pisco wings a little. The Cupid’s Cup is a great place to start, you should also check out this Blood Orange Pisco Cocktail for another delicious option!
And how could you not love The Cupid’s Cup? The Aperol not only balances out the sour notes with a little bitterness, but it also gives it that gorgeous orange/peach colour. I’ve used both lime and lemon juice in this cocktail recipe, and I love it both ways but slightly prefer the more sour lemon juice. A traditional Pisco Sour is made with fresh lime juice (actually, the Peruvian recipe calls for limones, which are similar to key limes) but since we’re already wandering off the pisco sour path, we’re going with lemon juice in this recipe.
We, of course, have egg white in this Pisco Sour variation, for that smooth and creamy finish – I really recommend using fresh egg whites for this as the texture is smoother than the pasteurised egg whites you get in a carton, however you can use them if you’re really worried about using fresh raw egg whites. The garnish for The Cupid’s Cup is a single fresh mint leaf, that you gently bruise by clapping it between your palms to release the oils.
The name of this pisco cocktail, and it’s gorgeous colour, means it is the perfect cocktail to serve for Valentine’s Day or Galentine’s Day… or both! It is perfect for sharing with your boo. But, of course, you can make up as many as you like to serve all your girlfriends at a Galentine’s Day brunch, or perhaps even an anti-Valentine’s day party! The Cupid’s Cup is also the perfect cocktail to serve for Mother’s Day or as Brunch cocktail, and it makes a great before-dinner aperitif cocktail.
So, let’s get mixing!
The Cupid's Cup
Prep
Total
Yield 1 cocktail
A delicious Pisco Sour variation made with Aperol. This simple pisco drink is a little sour and a little bitter, the perfect balance
Ingredients
- 1.5 oz Pisco
- 1 oz Aperol
- 1 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
- 1 oz Simple Syrup
- 1 Egg White*
- Fresh Mint Leaves for garnish
Instructions
- Put all the ingredients, except the mint leaves, in a cocktail shaker and dry shake vigorously for 60 seconds.
- Add 5 ice cubes and shake again, until you can feel the shaker get cold
- Pour into chilled coupe or martini glass
- Place a mint leaf between on your palm and clap your other hand flat on top - this gently bruises it and help release fragrant oils. Place on top of the white foam.
Notes
*I recommend fresh egg whites for texture, but if you're worried about raw egg you can use pasteurised egg whites from a carton
Calorie information is generated using an app, results may vary. And sorry for even including calories, I do it under duress!
Courses Cocktails
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 cocktail
Amount Per Serving | ||
---|---|---|
Calories 290 | ||
% Daily Value |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
What a great cocktail for Valentine’s Day! I absolutely love those glasses too! 🙂
Aw thank you! I’m in love with those glasses as well, so pretty!
I love pisco sour! What a fun spin on it, I can’t wait to give it a try!
Thank you so much!
OMG Michelle! I’m out of Pisco (and Aperol) and I want a Cupid’s Cup right now! I have to settle for a Manhattan… First world problems 🙂
My liquor store was out of the Porton Pisco that I usually buy, but the had a Chilean one. I was a little disappointed. It’s funny – I didn’t really buy the hype while I was in Peru but there may be something to it. I did some research, and came across this article: https://www.thedailybeast.com/peru-vs-chile-south-americas-great-pisco-war
So the battle rages on! Happy Galentine’s Day lovely! And thanks for the link to my Blood Orange Pisco Cocktail!
A Manhattan is not a bad second choice haha!
The pisco that I have is Chilean and I really like it, need to try some Peruvian in a blind taste test I think haha!
I made this cocktail after googling Pisco cocktails as i have a YouTube Channel dedicated to South & Latin American Spirits and Cocktails. I also own my own Brazilian Restaurant that does the same.
I tried this cocktail and immediately fell in love with it! It is so so so so so so wonderful. If i could give this 6 stars I would. Hell, 7, 8, 9 or however many more.
It was absolutely delicious and have since made it for a few of my guests who have also really enjoyed it.
Thank you so much for sharing and keep up the good work!
I also filmed a video on this cocktail and its going live next week. I credited you and linked to this page as well! Ill leave the link below if you care to watch!
https://youtu.be/fPZ2cnLuUWA
Hi Lui,
So sorry it’s taken me so long to reply – it’s been one of those months (years?!)!
I’m so glad you liked the cocktail – it’s one of my favourites too. Loved the video as well – thank you so much for sharing!
I just saw this and made it with my newly acquired La Caravedo Quebranta Pisco, and it was really refreshing, although I may have to dial down the syrup a bit. I used a 63 percent cane sugar syrup which was probably the reason why, but it was still refreshing nonetheless! Thanks again for this recipe!
Hi Freddie – thanks for your comment! So glad you liked it. Definitely a good idea to play around with the sweetness