Ever tried pisco, the national drink of Peru? Drinks Digest put the grape-distilled spirit to the test during a virtual pisco cocktail making event hosted by Double Deuce Lounge and our verdict is … DELICIOUS.

Double Deuce bartender Alicia Clarke recently won the first-ever Aussie Pisco Chilcano Competition, an initiative from PROMPERÚ (the Commission for the Promotion of Peruvian Exports and Tourism) to promote the spirit to bartenders and at-home mixologists.

The competition challenged bartenders to craft a ‘down-under’ version of the classic pisco cocktail, a refreshing drink that brings together ginger ale, lime, bitters and, of course, Pisco.

Alicia won the top prize for her original Aussie Chilcano recipe – the ‘Queensland Yacht Club’, which mixes pisco with mango and pineapple cordial and Stone’s Ginger Wine. It was inspired by her Queensland heritage and her father’s love of ginger wine.

Chilcano Chief Judge Mike Bennie​, with the help of ​Continental Deli’s Michael Nicolian​, selected the ‘Queensland Yacht Club’ as the top Chilcano creation as it showcased both pisco and classic Australian ingredients in one delicious drink. Double Deuce bartender Charlie Lehmann is pictured above sampling the cocktail.

Here’s the recipe for the winning cocktail, which Drinks Digest recreated at home while Alicia (above) whipped up a couple on Instagram during a live video presentation:

Queensland Yacht Club

45ml Del Parral Pisco Quebranta

25ml Mango and Pineapple Cordial

10ml Stone’s Ginger Wine

10ml lime juice

5ml sugar syrup

METHOD: Add all ingredients to a tin and shake hard.S ingle strain into a frozen coupe and garnish with a pineapple leaf.

Drinks Digest didn’t have a pineapple leaf, so we used a mint sprig instead. We may have also over-poured the ginger wine, so our version isn’t the same pretty yellow as Alicia’s. But the results were a tropical treat that we’d eagerly order from the Double Deuce bar menu.

As Ryan Reynolds noted last week, “This is why we need mixologists.”

Double Deuce Lounge, 6 Bridge St, Sydney NSW 2000