Hotsy Totsy Owner Sticks to the Original Sour and Wins Big

In early July at the top of the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, the government of Peru and Macchu Pisco spirits announced that Jessica Maria, co-owner of the  on San Pablo Avenue, was the local winner of the Centennial Macchu Pisco Sour Competition, celebrating 100 years since the rediscovery of Machu Picchu. Next week Maria will represent the Bay Area in the national contest to be held in Lima, Peru.

The competition was as stiff as pisco itself, with mixologists representing some of San Francisco's best restaurants, such as the renowned Michael Mina and the go-to spot for Peruvian food in the city, La Mar Cebicheria.

But before we get to the action, let's review the basics.

Pisco is a white brandy typically made with muscat grapes and was first distilled in the 16th century by Spanish settlers in Peru and Chile.

The sponsor of the contest, Macchu Pisco, brought its brandy to the United States five years ago, just in time for the pisco sour craze that has been sweeping cocktail bars across the country and the Bay Area in recent years.

The pisco sour is the official national drink of Peru and is traditionally prepared using pisco, egg white, lime juice, simple syrup and bitters.

Contestants had a few months to practice and improvise the pisco sour they wanted to create. About a month before the competition, the anticipation started to build on Hotsy Totsy's Facebook page, with bar regulars and friends wishing Maria luck.

Instead of extra ingredients or modern updates, Maria decided to make a classic pisco sour and dig even deeper into its origins. To make simple syrup she started with a strong tea from coca leaves, a plant native to Peru. The mildly bitter Mate de Coca simple syrup, lime juice and egg white were shaken with pisco, which transformed into a frothy mixture the color of yellow quartz.

Once the drink was in the glass, Maria garnished the foamy, white crown with seven dots of the sweet, purple corn-based liquid Chicha Morada —seven for the seventh wonder of the world, the ancient ruins of Machu Picchu. Using a toothpick she drew together the dots to form the sun, a major Incan deity, thus finishing the cocktail she called the Urubamba Sour.

Though confident of her skill, Maria says she did not expect to win the whole contest. “I thought I might place,” she said, “After they called out the runners-up and I wasn't one of them, I counted myself out. Then they announced that I won and I was just so surprised. It was a great feeling.”

She and Michael Valladares, partner and , have both traveled to Peru in the past. in fact, Valladares' family is from Peru, which added an extra-sweet touch to the victory.

In the city of Lima, Maria will compete against contest winners from Boston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York City and Washington, DC. The winner will get an extra week in Peru and a stay at the five-star El Monasterio Hotel in the city of Cusco.

But before all that happens, the Hotsy Totsy crew will send Maria and Valladares off to Peru with a party. Stop by the bar on Saturday night to try a pisco sour and wish Jessica Maria good luck and a great journey.  

Everybody makes mistakes ... ! If there's something in this article you think should be corrected, or if something else is amiss, call editor Emilie Raguso at 510-459-8325 or email her at emilier@patch.com.