Make the Classic San Francisco Cocktail with a Crazy Cocaine Backstory

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Food

Make the Classic San Francisco Cocktail with a Crazy Cocaine Backstory

This San Franciscan classic packs a big, boozy, citrusy punch.
pisco-punch-recipe

Pisco Punch may have been originally made with cocaine.

That's not some coked-out urban legend, but the result of extensive research at the heart of a documentary called Pisco Punch: A Cocktail Comeback Story, looking at the birth and re-birth of the drink within American culture. As you may know, pisco is a grape brandy that goes back to the 16th-century Peru. It found a new life in San Francisco almost 300 years later and the Pisco Punch became an instant classic. And while you'd be hard-pressed to find a Pisco Punch with psychoactive properties in this day and age (cocaine was actually legal at the time, although it wasn't used in the drink in powdered form), there is still more than enough citrus and booze in here to make it worthwhile.

RECIPE: Pisco Punch

It's the freakin' weekend. We've got your cocktail covered, but if you want any secret ingredients, you'll have to talk to your dealer.