history

Reserva del Abad proudly captures 400 years of true Peruvian spirit in our exclusive, premiere production of Pisco.

During the mid-15th century, the Spanish brought over the first grapevines to Peru. Since 1615, the vine has been cultivated in the coastal valley near the Ica region in a town called Pisco.

In the late 1600s, the production of wine in Peru was forbidden by the Spanish Crown to protect the exports of its native wine industry. In defiance of this ban, the religious order of Jesuits started using a distillation process to produce a liquor which they named after the town of Pisco. Only the Abad (Superior Father) of the Monastery had keys to access the Order’s best reserves of Pisco.

In the 1700’s, the Jesuits sent shipments of Pisco as exclusive gifts to Missions in California. Pisco became popular in the United States, especially in San Francisco, during the California Gold Rush of the mid-1800 to early 1900’s. It was there in San Francisco that the Pisco Punch cocktail was created.

We invite you to celebrate our proud tradition.