How Picon Punch Became Nevada's Unofficial State Drink
If you're not from Nevada, you may have never heard of Picon punch. Yet this is a cocktail that is widely considered to be the unofficial drink of Nevada and, despite the wider obscurity, Picon punch is a drink that just about every bartender in the Silver State knows how to make. The ingredients of Picon punch include grenadine (you'll be surprised to learn it's not actually cherry-flavored), brandy, soda water, and a French liqueur known as Amer Picon. It is generally served in a highball glass with a lemon peel garnish or wedge of lemon.
Amer Picon itself has a long and fascinating history. It was invented by a Frenchman named Gaëtan Picon in 1837, who developed it as a tonic to treat malaria. Its popularity caught on when the Basque people immigrated to the U.S. and, while setting down stakes in America, became found of the beverage. It is believed the birthplace of Picon punch was the boardinghouses where the Basque immigrants lived in the American West. Many more specifically claim that it actually came from the Basque Hotel in San Francisco and traveled farther east when the establishment's owner moved to Elko County, Nevada.
What does Picon Punch taste like?
Like its Italian cousin, Fernet, the French Amer Picon is a bitter aperitif like Italian amari. Aperitifs are generally served before dinner to stimulate the appetite. Amer Picon is not available in the U.S., so bartenders today create their own version using a combination of spirits, including Italian bitters, to replicate the taste. Some distilleries have successfully recreated Gaëtan Picon's recipe, enabling mixologists to concoct the Basque cocktail. Today, Picon punch is often described as a bitter beverage with some likening it to a Campari and soda, while others note its rather fruity nature.
Picon punch isn't Nevada's official state drink, but that isn't for lack of trying. Reno City Councilman David Bobzien made repeated but unsuccessful attempts to get his colleagues to declare it as Nevada's state drink. We don't know why he wasn't able to get such a measure passed, but it may be because the drink was not strictly invented in Nevada. California holds that distinction — San Francisco, to be exact — where it's still popular among the Basque population there.