Well, it’s still winter and one of my favorite winter cocktails is the Brandy Alexander. My love affair with this mixed concoction started on a cold December evening several years ago. I was on Cape Cod (yes, in the winter) and it was freezing outside. I decided to duck into an eclectic looking bar to get warm on the outside and hopefully on the inside as well. I sat at the long wooden bar and grabbed a drink menu. As I was going down the list of craft cocktails, I noticed one in particular…Brandy Alexander. So, I thought, I’ll gave it a try. It was delicious! From that moment on, it was my go-to winter drink. I recall another time during the winter when I, again, ducked into a bar on a cold winter evening. I didn’t even look at the cocktail list. I knew exactly what I wanted. A Brandy Alexander is not a “popular” drink, so I had to explain to the bartender what was in it. The memory of that first one years before was still vivid. The location may have been different, but the cold winter evening air and the funky bar brought me back.
Here are some facts about Brandy and/or Cognac to give you a baseline of what’s in this drink and why it’s a nice diversion from drinking wine. First of all, it’s important to understand what the difference between brandy and cognac is. Both are made from fermented white grapes (wine connection!). The process to make brandy or cognac is different from wine fermentation. Basically, it’s fermented longer and then distilled to create the higher alcohol level. The resulting liquid is a brown/caramel color and has an alcohol level of 40%.
So, what’s the difference between brandy and cognac? Brandy can be made anywhere in the world, but cognac has to come from grapes in the Cognac region of France. It’s similar to the difference between Champagne and sparkling wine. Champagne has to come from grapes in the Champagne region of France.
There are 3 aging designations of brandy/cognac:
VS: Very Special is aged for at least 2 years
VSOP: Very Superior Old Pale is aged for at least 4 years
XO: Extra Old is aged for at least 10 years
The Brandy Alexander is typically served in a coupe or martini glass. I like to use Cognac VSOP when creating my cocktail, but any type of brandy or cognac will work just fine!
Brandy Alexander recipe:
- 1 ½ ounces of Brandy or Cognac
- 1 ounce Dark Crème de Cacao
- 1 ounce cream
- Garnish: Grated Nutmeg
Steps:
- Add cognac, dark crème de cacao and cream into a shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled.
- Strain into a chilled martini glass or a coupe glass.
- Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.
Enjoy your Brandy Alexander in front of a roaring fire. It will surely keep you warm this winter!
*As a bonus, I’ll give you another recipe using brandy/cognac. It’s called a Sidecar and it’s been around since pre-World War 1!
- 1 ½ ounces of Cognac or Brandy
- ¾ ounce orange liqueur (such as Cointreau)
- ¾ ounce lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- Garnish: orange twist
- Garnish: sugar rim
Steps:
- Coat the rim of a coupe glass with sugar.
- Add cognac, orange liqueur and lemon juice to a shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled.
- Strain into the coup glass.
- Garnish with an orange twist.
Brandy or Cognac can be enjoyed neat as well…. just a snifter glass and a pour of Cognac.
Cheers!