Brandy Alexander
Cognac, crème de cacao and cream shaken cold, with nutmeg on top. An after-dinner drink that tastes like a liquid dessert.
- MethodShaken
- GlassCoupe
- IceNone (served up)
- Strengthabout 15.7% ABV
- BaseBrandy
- Tastecreamy, sweet
Recipe
| 45 ml 1½ oz | Cognac (VSOP) |
| 30 ml 1 oz | Dark crème de cacao |
| 30 ml 1 oz | Cream (single/light or half-and-half) |
Garnish. A light grating of fresh nutmeg over the surface.
Method
- Chill a coupe.
- Shake the cognac, crème de cacao and cream very hard with ice for 15 seconds, to aerate the cream.
- Double strain into the coupe.
- Grate a little nutmeg over the top.
About the Brandy Alexander
The Brandy Alexander is brandy shaken with chocolate liqueur and cream until light and frothy. It is rich, sweet and smooth, with the cognac keeping it from tasting like a milkshake. Serve it small and cold after dinner.
History
Earliest record 1930: Harry Craddock, The Savoy Cocktail Book (London), brandy version
Documented
The drink began as the Alexander, made with gin, crème de cacao and cream; that version is printed in Hugo Ensslin's Recipes for Mixed Drinks, published in New York in the mid-1910s. The brandy version followed, and Harry Craddock's Savoy Cocktail Book (London, 1930) prints a brandy Alexander alongside the gin one. Brandy gradually displaced gin, and by the mid-20th century the Brandy Alexander was the better known of the two.
Legend and lore
The name is variously traced to a New York bartender named Troy Alexander at Rector's restaurant, to a baseball pitcher, Grover Cleveland Alexander, and to the 1922 wedding of Princess Mary in London. None of these explanations is firmly established.
Disputed or unclear: The exact first edition and year of Ensslin's gin Alexander (1915 or 1916) are given differently by different sources.
Variations
- Alexander. The original with gin in place of brandy; lighter and more aromatic.
- Grasshopper. Crème de menthe and white crème de cacao with cream, no spirit.
- White Russian. Vodka, coffee liqueur and cream, built over ice.
Bartender's notes
- Shake longer and harder than for a citrus drink; cream needs the air to feel light.
- Use single cream or half-and-half. Double cream makes it cloying and heavy.
