BarSol is a pisco brand from the Bodega San Isidro distillery in the town of Pueblo Nuevo in Ica Province, Peru. The bodega is firmly documented in the town archives as a pisco producer from 1919, when the property last changed hands, but some evidence exists for pisco production at the bodega in the nineteenth century.
Bodega San Isidro produces several varietal (or puro) piscos as well as an acholado (blend) and mosto verde, all under two brands: BarSol and Mendiola. Only BarSol is presently exported to the United States.
In the 1940 the distillery was operated by the Mendiola family. Master distiller Doña Mendiola created several celebrated and award-winning piscos. There remains a tradition of female distillers in Peru today with the sisters Melanie and Lizzie Asher producing pisco at Macchu Pisco.
Peru’s military coup in 1968 brought the growth of the pisco trade to a grinding halt. The land that supported the vineyards was nationalized and turned into cooperative farms. Eventually many of these large farms failed; small subsistence farms followed, tended by individual families.
The vineyards remaining provided only enough grapes for personal use. The political situation only worsened in the decades following the military coup with the emergence of the Shining Path and Tupac Amaru groups. The ongoing struggle between these groups and the central government made business all but impossible, and exports virtually ceased. Only by the end of the twentieth century had the political situation improved.
Taking advantage of the improving climate for business in 2002, partners Diego Loret De Mola and Carlos Ferreyros purchased small tracts of land from different families to revive Bodega San Isidro and resume the production of premium pisco for export to the United States. BarSol Pisco was the spark that ignited the entrepreneurial spirit in Peru and inspired other like-minded Peruvians now reviving the once moribund pisco industry.
“Authentic Peruvian Pisco Brought to Life through a Diverse Range of Traditional Expressions.” Anchor Distilling Company website. http://www.anchordistilling.com/brand/barsol/ (accessed April 23, 2021).
BarSol Pisco website. https://www.barsolpisco.com/ (accessed February 1, 2021).
Museo del Pisco website. https://museodelpisco.org/ (accessed May 5, 2021).
By: Dale DeGroff