In its inaugural year, Campo de Encanto won the Gran Medalla de Oro, the award for the Best Pisco of Perú. For Maestro Carlos Ruben Romero-Gamero and the nearly four hundred distillers in Perú, this is the highest honor to receive. Every September, the Comisión Nacional del Pisco combs the vast landscape of Perú visiting Pisco distilleries to secure samples of the pure grape brandy for analysis. Regional competitions ensued, followed by the Grand Championship which was held on Friday, November 5th, 2010. In front of thousands of his countrymen thirsty for their native drink, Master Distiller Romero and the brand he co-founded, Campo de Encanto was awarded this year's World's Best Pisco.

Ours is the Pisco of the People, an ‘Acholado’ style historically created not by the Don of a Hacienda but by his Servant, now blended for Bartenders by Bartenders.

Peruvians cherish their national drink, defending its nearly 500 years of history with great pride. Peruvian Pisco is the direct descendant of Spanish-Arabic distillation, appearing and tasting how Brandy de Jerez was before Columbus sailed to the New World and barrels came into vogue for the international transportation of spirits. It is the living legacy of the world’s first potable spirit; a burnt wine, an unaged single-distilled grape eau-de-vie. It is believed that the Ica Valley was first planted in the 1520s by Spaniards and the Jesuit Missionaries who accompanied them. It was first imported to San Francisco in 1839, before the Gold Rush, when Pisco found a foothold and gave birth to the infamous Pisco Punch--the cocktail that made Mark Twain lose his cynicism and Rudyard Kipling seek poetic words to match the lyric in the liquid. What followed in Lima was the Pisco Sour, the National Cocktail of Perú. Today, every quaff of Campo de Encanto Pisco brings it all together: Perú and San Francisco, staid old-vine grapes and the boom of the gold rush, the refinement of a truly superior spirit sipped quietly and the kick-in-the-teeth euphoria of a Barbary Coast saloon.

The accolades for Campo de Encanto Pisco extend far beyond its native soil. “Encanto is simply the best spirit to hit the market in a long while,” said Jonny Raglin, award-winning Mixologist and Saloonkeeper of the Comstock Saloon, San Francisco.

Thanks, Jonny, we agree with you.

Campo de Encanto ‘Acholado’ Pisco is a vibrant, artisanal grape brandy produced in the Ica Valley of Perú; it is a cuvee of many different small batches, across vintages, and four different varietals: Quebranta (74%), Torontel (6%), Moscatel (4%) and Italia (16%). Encanto is then rested for one year to refine its smooth texture, aroma and spice notes. Encanto is sustainably harvested, vinted, and distilled according to the strictest standards set by the Comisión Nacional del Pisco of Perú: distilled only once, nothing added, no preservatives, no sugar. Not even a drop of water. It is an honest, blended-by-hand, bottled-at-proof beauty.

As San Franciscans, we’re excited to return to the glory days of the Barbary Coast. The three of us — a Distiller (Carlos Romero), a Sommelier (Walter Moore) and a Bartender (Duggan McDonnell) — function like a rock band, each of us doing his part to produce our Symphony. Making booze, like making music, is a wild, hilarious, and laborious process. And producing the World’s Best Pisco ain’t easy, but it’s fun.

Campo de Encanto Pisco cocktails have been made in Buenos Aires and Seattle, in Singapore and in Cusco, and from Las Vegas to New York City. Please, sip it, shake it, and notice how the flavor opens in the bottle and in your glass.

Oh, by the way, Campo de Encanto means ‘Field of Enchantment.’ —Enjoy.