Peru comes to the table

Francisco Chia hosts the opening of Beijing's new nighttime Peruvian restaurant, Pachakutiq. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Pisco, of course, is Peru's signature white liquor, and cocktails on the bar menu make the most of it.

Pisco sours are well-known, from the classic lime to variations made with passion fruit, kiwi, strawberry, raspberry ginger, and mango. Chilcanos are pisco cocktails made with a big splash of ginger beer and most of the fruit options available in the sours. The passionfruit chilcano was a flavor bomb made crunchy with the floating seeds, while we thought the ginger flavor was too much of a good thing in a drink based on ginger beer. Pachas are more familiar cocktails (sangria, margarita, punch) laced with pisco.

The full bar includes any drinker's usual favorites as well.

With winter's icy grip already on Beijing, it's hard to resist hanging out after dinner to explore the whole list.

If you go

Pachakutiq

No B1-239 in Sanlitun Soho, 8 Gongti Lu, Chaoyang district, Beijing. 131-2169-1411.