LIMA (AFP) — If there is a common theme running through an Asia-Pacific summit here besides anguish over the world economy, it would be the prevalence of the Peruvian national cocktail known as pisco sour.
A source of national pride among party-loving Peruvians, the tart, frothy beverage that packs a punch has repeatedly taken center-stage at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum's gathering in the capital Lima.
The margarita-like drink combines pisco -- a Peruvian brandy -- with lemon juice, egg whites and other ingredients and is considered mandatory in the South American country for welcoming guests and other festive occasions.
This week's gathering has been no exception.
Even teetotalling US President George W. Bush, who famously quit drinking at 40, was spotted apparently sipping a pisco sour during the summit on Saturday.
It was unclear whether he actually drank any, or whether it was an alcohol-free version.
The White House rebuffed questions about the matter.
When Peruvian President Alan Garcia and Chinese leader Hu Jintao announced the successful conclusion of bilateral free trade talks on Wednesday, waiters arrived bearing trays of the beverage to celebrate.
South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak paid homage to the cocktail in his speech at the APEC summit's official opening Saturday, singling it out as an example of deepening trade and cultural ties with Peru.
"Koreans are drinking Latin American liquors such as pisco sour, and at the same time tango, samba and salsa are gaining popularity among the younger generation in Korea," he said.
Pisco's history dates to the earliest days of the region's colonization by Spain, which introduced the grape.
But all the attention at the summit to Peruvian pisco is unlikely to engender goodwill with fellow APEC member Chile, which claims that its version of the beverage is the real thing.
The two countries have been locked in a sour battle over the soul of the drink since an 1879-1883 war resulted in Chile seizing a block of Peruvian territory where pisco production thrived.
Chile is now the leading producer and exporter of the drink worldwide, bolstering its claims, while Peruvians maintain they gave the drink to the world.
Peru marks annual "Pisco Sour Day" in early February with pisco-tasting parties across the country and a pisco sour fountain in Lima's historic main square.
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