Drinks

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For the tourist, two drinks dominate his consciousness - pisco sour and Inca Kola . The first is cocktail of one part lime juice to three parts of the eponymous national brandy made from Quebranta or Muscat grapes. Whilst the strength varies a little, we have enjoyed both the ones we paid for and the (not necessarily) weaker complimentary ones we received.

Inca Kola is, however, an acquired taste that we have yet to acquire. The sweet flavour reminds some people of bubblegum. This beverage is yellowish-gold in colour, and has been successful to the extent that it drove Pepsi-Cola from Peru and has been able to tie up an advantageous joint venture with the less dominant Coca-Cola.

The extent to which this drink pervades Peruvian society - apart from advertisements everywhere - was illustrated in the sophisticated Astrid y Gaston restaurant we visited on Thursday evening. Towards the end of the evening, the couple on the next table had finished their meal and were near draining their wine glasses when the man called for a bottle of Inca Kola. A glass bottle was brought to the table and poured into a fine goblet with some ceremony by the waiter, whereupon the diner poured the remains of his red wine into the sugary concoction and downed the lot!

Beers are fair, but all seem to be lagers. Cristal is very popular, as are the regional brews Cusquena and Arequipena . A particular favourite was Cusquena Malta - a dark, sweetish, brew.

The wines seem quite limited with only two white wines widely available in restaurants - Tacama and Tabernero, both being blends. We shall be trying these when we get home to see how they stand up to a "cold " tasting.

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