Carnaval is a high-end cocktail bar located in the heart of Lima’s upscale district of San Isidro. Carnaval is the brainchild of Aaron Diaz, whose breadth of experience includes no less than beverage director at Astrid y Gaston as well as bartending stints at The Aviary (Chicago) and other high-end bars in Moscow, Mexico City and Buenos Aires.

My father and two brothers recently visited Lima. I had heard of Carnaval and that it’s the hottest new place in town. It was my new favorite bar the first time I went. We ended up going twice, and then I took my wife there for a date. That’s how impressed I was. Let’s look at the drinks. The Gran Carnaval is a tasting menu of seven of the house specialties. The pictures and descriptions below are not necessarily what came with that, because I don’t remember much from any of the three times I was there.

This is the “Alegria, alegoria” (Joy, allegory), which has gin, elderberry liqueur, cucumber, lime and mint. As you can see, the presentations of the cocktails required just as much thought and creativity as the drinks themselves. This cup was designed by ceramic artist Sonia Cespedes.

The Quetzal, which was clearly inspired by Diaz’s time in Mexico, has tequila, mescal, green apple and lime. The bartender it is Diaz’s second-favorite creation, after the signature Carnaval.

Carnaval’s signature cocktail, the Carnaval, contains green Chartreuse, gin, beer and pineapple juice.

El Queso Inmigrante (Immigrant Cheese), in the coupe glass at the top left with two colored garnishes, is an ode to Peru’s Italian immigration, made with torontel pisco, Grana Padano-infused vermouth, Kombucha and Bergamot liqueur. The Black Truffle. lighted at the bottom, has rum, black truffle, Campari, vermouth and mescal.

The Dragon contains vodka, lychee beer, grapefruit and various spices, garnished with pitaya. This drink’s presentation warrants a video to do it justice. The ceramic dragon breathes smoke (dry ice).

If you like cocktails, you’re probably already sold. But the reason I was the last person to write this article is because I don’t like cocktails. I must have been smuggled into Lima from a VFW hall, but I like beer. I’ll occasionally drink pisco sours at home, but I’m a beer guy. So how could Carnaval be my new favorite bar?

I can appreciate the amount of study and ingenuity in all the cocktails above. But I wouldn’t order any one of them over a simple Cusqueña. But then I saw that they serve Chartreuse.

One time in college a bartender in the hipster district of St. Louis recommended a shot of Chartreuse. I accepted, and it started a long love affair with the green liquor. At 110 proof (55% alcohol), it was a smack in the face, but one that tasted great. Sweet botanicals with a fierce dose of alcohol. As a grad student Chartreuse became my shot of choice. Most bars in the aforementioned district served it. So not only would I enjoy it myself, I would get a kick out of friends’ reactions after buying it for them. My closer friends came to know it almost as well as I did.

Chartreuse isn’t very common in the States, so finding a bar that serves it is something to make a mental note of. I’m sure a few places serve it in Latin America, but I had never seen one in 10 years. So for me to find a bar that not only serves it, but offers a Chartreuse Experience …

Not only a bar which offers a Chartreuse Experience, but has Chartreuse kitsch!

So those foo foo drinks are for the birds. At Carnaval I drink Chartreuse. Green with a soda back, as a macho que se respeta. And what soda do they serve? No less than Perrier. Francophile in heaven.

The Chartreuse Experience starts at the left with the yellow Chartreuse, a softer version at only 80 proof (40% alcohol). The second is the Chartreuse Sour, with the yellow instead of pisco. In the center (where else) is the green Chartreuse, which is served inside a larger glass of ice to keep cold. Beside the green is the Last Word, the signature Chartreuse cocktail born in early-20^th-century Detroit. On the right end is the Bijou, a gin martini with Chartreuse.

You can’t go wrong with the green. But if you don’t want something so strong, the Last Word is a lovely cocktail. Coming from somebody who doesn’t like cocktails, that’s saying something. I once heard the unorthodox combination of gin, Chartreuse, lime and maraschino described as a four-car accident in which nobody is hurt, and a half-hour later everybody is happy they met each other.

The first night I was there, founder Aaron Diaz was bartending. That’s him making a drink in the lower left corner of that shot. After all the Chartreuse I was drinking, and the admiring of the Chartreuse kitsch, he came over and introduced himself. He brought me behind the bar to explain that, and I could never in a thousand years imagine this, he is the Chartreuse brand ambassador for all of South America.

Diaz has visited the French monastery where the secret recipe of 130 botanical ingredients has been safeguarded by Christian monks since 1605. He is the real deal, the Chartreuse authority in Latin America. Imagine my luck! Diaz is also the most respected mixologist in Lima, and I was surprised at how friendly and unpretentious he was.

So let’s not tell Aaron I’m a beer guy. Because I’ll drink Chartreuse!

We ordered food on the date with my wife. Great burgers, chorizo tacos and fried shrimp, of the caliber you would expect from somebody who worked at Astrid y Gaston.

Location and info

Carnaval
Av. Pardo y Aliaga 662, San Isidro
Hours: Monday to Thursday 6 p.m. to 1 a.m., Fridays and Saturdays 6 p.m. to 3 a.m.

Carnaval is located in a commercial office building at the corner of where Pardo y Aliaga becomes Camino Real Avenue, a couple blocks west of Bosque El Olivar. The bar has no sign, so look for the revolving doors under “662.”

Pictures

Click the images below to enlarge. Or check out Carnaval’s profesional shots on Facebook.