The Story of Kappa
The story goes that Kappa Pisco is named for a constellation that adorns the night sky over the fields that its grapes are harvested from. The Elqui Valley of Chile is the cultivation source for the Muscat grapes used in Kappa and upwards of 300 days of the year it is adorned with sunshine. At night the constellation Southern Cross shines bright and within that is a star cluster known as the Kappa Crucis.
When the grapes mature and are harvested wine is made and that is distilled twice and combined with the clean water from the Andes Mountains. As is customary with pisco, Kappa is unaged.
- Twice distilled pisco made from Muscat grapes in Chile.
- Produced by Marnier-Lapostelle
- 42.5% alc/volume (85 proof)
- Retails for around $34/750ml bottle
- Kappa Pisco website
Drinking Kappa Pisco
Kappa is remarkably smooth and one of the more impressive piscos on the current market. It begins with a soft citrus fragrant and one can pick out the notes of orange blossom. On the palate, Kappa follows suit in its gentile nature, though at this point there is an intriguing mix of floral and fruit notes. The smooth mouthfeel is in distinct contrast to the finish, as this is decidedly stronger, almost rough.
Being one of the more refined piscos, Kappa can find a regular home in a variety of cocktails and it is one that you do not want to hide behind a lot of flavor. Treat this one gently. The Pisco Sour is a fine choice, as is a simple mix of Kappa and a splash of simple syrup topped with club soda (call it a Kappa Kooler). Grapefruit is another flavor that goes very well with this pisco; mix Kappa with grapefruit juice and ginger ale. There are few drinks that will go wrong when Kappa is used.
