This is an accepted version of this page Pisco is a colorless or yellowish-to-amber-colored spirit[1] produced in winemaking regions of Peru[2] and Chile.

[3] Made by distilling fermented grape juice into a high-proof spirit, it was developed by 16th-century Spanish settlers as an alternative to orujo, a pomace brandy that was being imported from Spain.

[4] It had the advantages of being produced from abundant domestically grown fruit and reducing the volume of alcoholic beverages transported to remote locations.

[Ehemals wurde in Chile eine große Menge des unter dem Nahmen Pisco de Italia im Lande bekannten Branntweins verbraucht, der aus Peru kam; aber seitdem die Einfuhrzölle so hoch sind, hat man aus einer Art Traube mit großen ovalen Beeren ein ähnliches Getränk bereitet, welches das peruanische fast gänzlich verdrängt hat.

]In the Medical Lexikon of Robley Dunglison (1858) it is stated that, following observations of Swiss Johann Jakob von Tschudi: In Peru, the common brandy obtained from grapes is the Aguardiente de Pisco, so called because shipped at the port of Pisco.

[10] This claim is disputed by Chilean linguist Mario Ferreccio Podesta, who supports the former Real Academia Española etymology according to which pisco was originally a word for a mud container.

[10] Other origins for the word pisco have been explored, including a Mapudungun etymology where "pishku" has been interpreted as "something boiled in a pot", which would relate to the concept of burned wine (Spanish: vino quemado).

[13] Until the early 18th century, however, most aguardiente was still primarily used to fortify wine, in order to prevent its oxidation, rather than drunk on its own.

In the 17th century, production and consumption of wine and pisco were stimulated by the mining activities in Potosí, by then the largest city in the New World.

[6] In the late 18th century the Spanish Crown allowed the production of rum in Peru, which was cheaper and of lower quality than pisco.

[6] Pisco was also popular in the US, in San Francisco and nearby areas of California since the 1830s, during the Gold Rush, in the 1860s, and early to mid 1900s.

[21] The production of a regular Peruvian Pisco bottle requires 8 kilograms of grapes, and a Mosto Verde variety needs 12 kg.

[22] Many types of grapes were used to produce pisco, leading to a wide variation in flavor, aroma, viscosity and appearance of the liquor.

Four distinct types of pisco were thus designated:[23] Some other specific restrictions of note are:[citation needed] Peru currently[when?]

[26][dead link‍][2] Peruvian pisco won over 20 gold medals and was named the best liquor of the world in the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles 2011.

[31] Peru's production of pisco remains artisanal and does not alter the physical, chemical or organic properties before bottling.

Chile, in contrast, regards the term "pisco" as generic, and it argues the spirit is simply a type of alcoholic beverage made from grapes (as in the case of whisky and vodka).

It cites the name being used to designate a similar grape brandy produced in both countries and maintains two regions of Chile, Atacama and Coquimbo, that it authorizes to use the term.

[33] Large-market countries (e.g., the European Union,[34][35] the United States,[3] France,[36][37] Italy,[36][38] Mexico,[36][39] Canada,[40][41] Australia,[42] etc.)

The European Commission considers that pisco originates from Peru, but also allows the term to be used for products from Chile.