pisco

Pisco comes from Quechua pisqu (bird), naming a coastal valley where the spirit was first distilled from grapes in the 1500s. Spanish settlers made brandy; they named it for the place.

Peru and Chile have fought for decades over pisco's origin. Both countries produce it; both claim the authentic version. The dispute is passionate and unresolved.

Pisco sours — the cocktail — are South American staples, ordered carefully to avoid national offense. Which pisco you drink is a political statement.

The Quechua word for 'bird' now names a liquor war.