Bar Maury

Bar Maury occupies the ground floor of Hotel Maury at Jirón Ucayali 201, two blocks from the Plaza Mayor. The hotel dates to 1835, founded by French merchant Pedro Maury, and La República calls it the oldest on the Pacific coast.

The pisco sour was born at Bar Morris on Calle Boza, but when Morris closed in 1929 its bartenders moved here and refined the recipe into the national standard, a history traced by the enPerú blog and Wikipedia's Hotel Maury entry. Legendary bartender Eloy Cuadros, profiled by Latin America Confidential, spent decades behind this counter claiming responsibility for the drink.

Who would hate it? Anyone chasing a modern speakeasy. This is velvet, carpet, and ceremony.

AFAR's review describes the room as all wood, carpet, and velvet sofa, an interior rebuilt in 1954 under architect Héctor Velarde and untouched in spirit since. White jacketed bartenders work a counter that treats the sour as ritual: egg white, three shakes, bitters on top.

The classic pisco sour runs about S/30, around USD 8, and it is the order; the catedral size doubles it for the committed. Chilcanos and straight pisco flights fill out the list for the second round. Erasmusu's pisco sour tour of the center ranks the Maury pour against El Bolivarcito's and calls this the sit down version of the pilgrimage.

Afternoons bring historic center walkers and hotel guests; early evenings mix Lima traditionalists with cocktail pilgrims working the sour circuit between here, El Bolivarcito, and the Gran Hotel Bolívar. The room stays calm even when full.

What regulars say:

• AFAR calls the wooded, velvet room an excellent setting for the city's emblematic drink.
• Latin America Confidential's profile of Eloy Cuadros anchors the bar's claim on the recipe.
• Tripadvisor reviewers describe the pisco sour as outstanding and the location as emblematic.

Who it is for:

• First timers doing the pisco sour history tour properly
• A calm, seated drink between Plaza Mayor and San Francisco
• Avoid if you want standing room energy; El Bolivarcito handles the crush

The most civilized stop on Lima's pisco sour trail and the one with the strongest claim to the recipe. Take a velvet seat, order the clásico, and let the white jackets do the rest.

Getting there: Jirón Ucayali 201 at the corner of Carabaya in the historic center, two blocks from the Plaza Mayor and an easy walk from San Francisco monastery.

Timing: Daily from late morning to night. Late afternoon catches the room at its calmest.

Cost: Pisco sour about S/30, catedral about S/45. Cards accepted; cash welcome.