Alabazam

Difford's Guide
Discerning Drinkers (26 ratings)

Serve in a

Collins glass

Photographed in an

UB Koto Collins 35cl
Ingredients:
1 1/2 fl oz Rémy Martin V.S.O.P. cognac
3/4 fl oz Grand Marnier or other cognac orange liqueur
3/4 fl oz Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
1/3 fl oz Monin Pure Cane Syrup
2 dash Orange Bitters by Angostura
3 drop Saline solution 4:1 (20g sea salt to 80g water)
2 fl oz Thomas Henry Soda Water
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Read about cocktail measures and measuring.

Garnish:

Lemon slice

How to make:

SHAKE first 6 ingredients with ice and strain into ice-filled glass. TOP with soda.

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Strength & taste guide:


Review:

This long, fruity cocktail packs a cognac-charged punch, but as the ice melts, it mellows and becomes refreshing.

History:

The first known reference to a cocktail of this name appears in Leo-Engel's 1880 American Other Drinks.

ALABAZAM.
Use tumbler.
One tea-spoonful of Angostura bitters; two tea-spoons of orange Curaçao; one tea-spoonful of white sugar; one tea-spoonful of lemon juice; half a wine glass of brandy. Shake up well with fine ice and strain in a claret glass.

Leo Engel, American Other Drinks, 1880

However, the bitter-heavy 1880 recipe bears little resemblance to the Alabazam we know today and which comes from William Schmidt's 1892 The Flowing Bowl – When and What to Drink.

Alabazam.
A large bar glass,
The juice of ½ lemon,
1 barspon of sugar,
1 dash of Seltzer; mix this well;
Fill your glass 2/3 with fine ice,
2 dashes of curaçao,
1 drink of brandy.
Stir well, strain, and serve.

William Schmidt, The Flowing Bowl – When and What to Drink, 1892

Nutrition:

One serving of Alabazam contains 195 calories.

Alcohol content:

  • 1.4 standard drinks
  • 12.43% alc./vol. (24.86° proof)
  • 20 grams of pure alcohol
Difford's Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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Bacardi's birthday image

Bacardi's birthday

The founder of Bacardi was a Catalan wine merchant called Facundo Bacardi Massó, who left Spain for Cuba in 1830.

Valentine's Day image

Valentine's Day

You can't have failed to notice that 14 February is St. Valentine's Day, a time of year when a sum equivalent to the GDP of a small country is spent on

Fernand Petiot's birthday image

Fernand Petiot's birthday

On this day in 1900, Fernand Pete Petiot was born in Paris, to parents who owned a guesthouse - he would come to fame, correctly or otherwise, as the inventor

Margarita Day image

Margarita Day

There are days for most things in the US, but Margarita Day is a subject very close to our hearts. Because, no matter who invented this classic cocktail,

World Bartender Day image

World Bartender Day

We're celebrating what the Oxford English dictionary defines as a person serving drinks at a bar, but we know as creative, hard-working folk who satisfy

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