Pisco quake thank you turns sour

By Dan Collyns
BBC News, Lima

The bottles were labelled with the magnitude of the quake

A Peruvian initiative to thank countries and international agencies for aid it received in last week's devastating earthquake has turned sour.

One thousand specially produced bottles of Peru's famous alcoholic drink, Pisco, have had to be withdrawn amid claims of bad taste.

The bottles were labelled "Pisco 7.9", the magnitude of the earthquake which killed about 500 people.

The city of Pisco, which bears the name of the drink, was especially hard hit.

But adding to the label the numbers 7.9 - the magnitude of the earthquake according to Peru's Geophysical Institute - has left a nasty aftertaste.

The public outrage and media criticism prompted the withdrawal of the bottles.

Even the Peruvian Prime Minister, Jorge del Castillo, said the bottles' title was in poor taste but emphasised that it had been a private venture.

However the Production Minister, Rafael Rey, was behind its promotion.

Following the torrent of press and public criticism, Mr Rey said it had never been his intention to make fun of Pisco.

Still in need

Nevertheless the labelling of the bottle has been seen as a monumental faux pas.

Three-quarters of the city centre of Pisco, nearest to the epicentre of last week's earthquake, was destroyed and some 300 people killed.

Pisco, the drink, is made throughout the grape-growing regions of Peru and Chile, both of which consider it their national drink.

But the existence of a city called Pisco is seen by Peruvians as proof that the drink originally came from Peru.

Meanwhile the opposition has questioned why the government is wasting resources on producing special edition pisco when some victims of the earthquake have still not received aid.

Some aid agencies say rural communities just 50km (31 miles) outside Pisco are still waiting for blankets and food more than a week after the earthquake struck.