Adamas Pisco: The Best Brandy You’ve Never Heard Of

Sep 09, 2023

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While most people have heard of the world's most famous brandies such as Cognac and Armagnac, many have not heard of the Peruvian variety known as Pisco.

Helping to change that one bottle at a time is Adamas Pisco, a new brand recently launched by a Hamptons couple who made it their mission to create one of the best Piscos connoisseurs can buy. It can be enjoyed on its own or in cocktails.

"It's like Champagne in the sense that there's only one area in Peru where you can get Pisco," Michael Meyers, co-owner of Adamas Pisco, said while likening the brandy to the popular French sparkling wine. "You can't even call it Pisco unless it comes from there."

Meyers and his wife Therese Corriente, who handles marketing for the brand and designed its luxurious diamond-like bottle, were inspired to develop their own Pisco after they were wowed by local varieties while on business in Peru.

The Pisco process starts with fermenting grapes. Fermentation typically takes a week to a month before the Pisco is ready to be distilled.

"We put it through a special distillation process," said Meyers. "It's a much purer product than the normal Piscos or tequila. The packaging we feel reflects the level of quality of the product."

The vineyard on which the grapes are grown contributes to Adamas Pisco's high-quality terroir. The couple searched for years to find just the right place.

"It's a very unique property," Meyers said. "It's in the desert, close to the Andes, so it has a great combination of the chill factor, warm during the daytime and cool at night, which gives the grapes the structure that it needs."

He noted the clear color separates it from more well known brandies, which are often brown or amber.

"They age the brandy in wood barrels, so you get the dark color and wood residue, whereas Adamas pisco is clear because we use the juice of the grape and age the juice in the traditional method in clay pots," he said.

It may come as a surprise that Pisco has been on the planet for at least 400 years. Besides Peru, it's also consumed in South American countries such as Chile. It was popular in San Francisco during the gold rush — but until recently, many consumers in the United States hadn't heard of it.

Adamas made a splash when the company served samples at events across the East End, including the Dan's Taste 2022 Summer Series Presented by Yieldstreet. For her efforts, Corriente was named one of Dan's Power Women of the East End and will be honored during a reception scheduled for September 8 at The Muses in Southampton.

The company is ramping up distribution since launching the brand this past summer, but for now local readers can purchase it on their website adamasreserve.com

"The reception was terrific," Meyers said. "I think there's a demand for drinks that can compete with tequilas and vodkas."