The history of this sweet little drink traces back to Spain’s conquest of Peru, and a drink called ponche de huevos, or egg punch.
Courtesy of Alyson Levy
Blending up eggs, milk, sugar, booze and with a bit of spice grated on top — sounds like eggnog, right? But use pisco instead of rum; sweetened, condensed milk in place of fresh milk and cream and a special ingredient — and you’ve got a cocktail de algarrobina. In Peru, it wouldn’t be Christmas without it.
“Christmas eve, in the Andes, is traditionally a cup of hot cocoa with panettone and cheese,” says Doris Rodriguez de Platt, who grew up in the Andes in northern Peru and now co-owns the Peruvian restaurant Andina in Portland, Ore. “And on Christmas Day, we have cocktail de algarrobina.”
Whether it’s Christmas, New Years or Independence Day, a tray of cocktail de algarrobina “proves to your guests that you are a real Peruvian,” she jokes. “We are all very gregarious…