Name: Alabazam (long)
Total time: 4 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 45 ml Cognac (brandy); 22.5 ml Orange Curaçao; 22.5 ml Lemon juice; 10 ml Sugar syrup (2:1); 2 dash Orange bitters; 3 drop Saline solution 4:1; 60 ml Soda (club soda) water

Alabazam (long)
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Photographed in an UB Koto Collins 35cl

Ingredients:
1 ¹⁄₂ oz	Rémy Martin V.S.O.P. cognac
³⁄₄ oz	Orange Curaçao liqueur
³⁄₄ oz	Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
¹⁄₃ oz	Monin Pure Cane Syrup (65.0°brix, equivalent to 2:1 rich syrup)
2 dash	Orange Bitters by Angostura
3 drop	Saline solution 4:1 (20g sea salt to 80g water)
2 oz	Thomas Henry Soda Water

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

Select and pre-chill a Collins glass.
Prepare garnish of lemon slice wheel.
SHAKE first 6 ingredients with ice.
STRAIN into ice-filled glass whilst also pouring soda.
Garnish with lemon slice.

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Review:

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

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Variant:

Alabazam (short)

History:

The first known reference to a cocktail of this name appears in Leo-Engel's 1878 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, short and straight-up 1878 recipe bears little resemblance to this tall Alabazam, 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

More cocktails by William Schmidt

Nutrition:

One serving of Alabazam (long) contains 209 calories

Alcohol content:

1.4 standard drinks
12.43% alc./vol. (12.43° 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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Manuela Rodrigues

21st February at 14:14

Internet is filled with references to a cocktail going by the same name, but served 'up'—one reminiscent of a Sidecar, but heavy on Angostura.
Any thoughts on this?

Simon Difford

23rd February at 10:05

That is the 1878 Leo-Engel version referenced above. I've created a separate page for this and added a link to "Alabazam (short)" above. (Initially only accessible to Premium members while awaiting photography.)

William Mulder

27th September 2021 at 23:12

Very tasty. I used Fever Tree Spiced Orange Ginger Ale as my soda.

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