Pisco Power Reigns at Osaka Hollywood
“Chicha or persimmon pear pisco?” asks bartender Marcus.
“Yes,” I reply.
“Which one for your pisco punch?” Marcus answers, perplexed.
With a mischievous smile, “Yes, to all nine of them, please.”
Pisco power reigns supreme at Hollywood’s newest hotspot Osaka. Yearning for LA’s summer temps, I went to the Peruvian-Japanese bar to relive memories of sipping pisco sours with my toes buried in the warm, white sands of Miami Beach last August.
Osaka, in a gorgeous display, reminiscent of a mad scientist’s lab, has over nine infused Pisco flavors to choose from to punch up your pisco sour. From walnut raisin to stonefruit to five pepper, it’s a farmer’s market fest in tribute to seasonal fruits and veggies.
I wasn’t sure about some of the flavors like Cinnamon or Moroccan Mint, so Marcus generously offered a sample before I made my final selection. Like a snowcone, any of their six Pisco cocktails can be customized with your palate’s pisco preference — spicy, sweet, fruity or savory.
The Pisco Punch with chicha (made of purple maize) was the perfect sizzling summertime sipper. And of course, Osaka’s classic Pisco Sour was all the more exotic with the persimmon pear pisco. Both cocktails had a subtle potency. My favorite kind of fruity concoction: a lady like first impression with a serious right hook going down.
All but two Osaka cocktails feature the Peruvian grape-based brandy called Pisco. The caipi Osaka features Sveda vodka, fresh strawberries, passion fruit and lime and the kyuri caipi is made with Tanteo Jalapeno Tequila, fresh lime juice, fresh cucumber.
Osaka opened September 2011 on Hollywood Blvd., adding to their other locations in Buenos Aires, Lima, Mexico D.F. and Santiago.
Reliving summertime memories is all that much more blissful at Osaka with their Happy Hour from 8pm - 12 am nightly. Drinks are half off. Now you can pisco it up until your heart’s content.
Osaka, 6327 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028
