Elqui Valley and the typical chilean Pisco
When you’re in Elqui Valley you can’t avoid notice: thousands of hectares of 
vines as far as theeye can see. Is the raw material of Pisco, the grapes, which after each drop produces fifty million liters of this Chilean national drink, annually. Knowing Elqui Valley is also knowing about the history of this drink, and the perfect combination between family tradition and commercial success.
Here is a short description about pisco distilleries that you may want to know. For all tastes.
Pisco Capel: The Elqui Pisco Agricultural Co-operative is not only the biggest producer in the country, but one of the most successful in the market for spirits. Born in 1935 as a small association of 30 farmers who were first renting two floors in the village of Paihuano, in Elqui Valley, and today they have the capacity to process 200 thousand tons. Nowadays, the plant in Vicuña must be like the Pisco Mecca, where the principal pisco brands are bottled: Alto del Carmen, Artesanos de Cochiguaz and Capel. This is the largest distillery in the Elqui Valley and the tour allows you to know the whole process in the production of distillate.
Pisco Aba: Just eight kilometers from the city of Vicuña there is one of the classic family pisco distilleries that for centuries dominated the production in Elqui Valley. The care in its work has led Aba to become a top class Distillate, Premium, recognized and rewarded at international level, thanks to its selection of stocks and stores in Oak and French Oak. The plant looks a bit rustic, but do not rely on initial impressions: as its owner, Alejandro Aguirre, says “the best recipes are not dependent on how the kitchen is modern, but the taste, creativity and talent of the chef.”
Pisco Mistral: Belongs to “Compañía Pisquera de Chile”, the second biggest pisco company in our country. The plant is located in the town of Pisco Elqui and should be in your must-see list. You can visit the original “stills room”, where you’ll get in touch with the working style of distilleries in the thirties, when the production of pisco gradually began to industrialize. Moreover, the main attraction of this plant lies in the possibility of purchasing a bottle wrapped entirely by hand and packaged with a certificate of craftsmanship, with a number of bottle associated with a number of barrel, a perfect gift for those who appreciate quality.
Pisco Los Nichos: another one of the premium distilleries is located a few 
kilometers from Pisco Elqui village and belonged to Don Rigoberto Rodriguez Rodriguez, the creator of the old “Three R” Pisco. Its main attraction, besides being a family pisco, with a low and careful production, is the old guard room, which gives meaning to the brand: true underground graves where the liquor bottles are stored, for over eighty years. This was also the favorite place for Don Rigoberto to invite their friends to party. The hundreds of written memories above the graves as epitaphs, are palpable imprint of those years of revelry. 100% recommended for those wishing to witness a real museum of pisco.
Pisco Artesanos de Cochiguaz: Belongs to Capel and is located in the village of Montegrande, also the land of the Nobel Price Poet Gabriela Mistral. Just like the other pisco distilleries, you can do a tour where they will explain, step by step, the process of pisco cocktails as well as other sour mango or berries.
