Fancy Brandy

Difford's Guide
Discerning Drinkers (13 ratings)

Serve in a

Nick & Nora glass
Ingredients:
2 fl oz Rémy Martin V.S.O.P. cognac
1/6 fl oz Orange Curaçao liqueur
1/6 fl oz Gomme syrup
1/6 fl oz Chilled water (omit if using wet ice)
1 dash Boker's bitters
Loading...
× 1

Read about cocktail measures and measuring.

How to make:

  1. Select and pre-chill a Nick & Nora glass.
  2. Prepare garnish of lemon zest twist.
  3. SHAKE all ingredients with ice.
  4. FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.
  5. EXPRESS lemon zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.
New Year's Day image

New Year's Day

If Auld Lang Syne left your throat dry? And dancing left your feet sore? And drinking left your head fuzzy? Then resist the temptation to curl up in bed

Hot Toddy Day image

Hot Toddy Day

In the days before ice was easily available - and in most parts of the world, you needed to be pretty much royalty to own an ice house and keep it stocked

The day Prohibition started image

The day Prohibition started

One minute after midnight on this day in 1920, the Volstead Act became law and Prohibition descended on the United States, making it illegal to possess,

Beer Can Appreciation Day image

Beer Can Appreciation Day

Here at Difford's Guide we're huge fans of beer cans – indeed we prefer cans to bottles. So we're happy to support this marketing gimmick of a day from

Burns Night image

Burns Night

The evening of January 25th is when Scots everywhere hold Burns Suppers in honour of the birth of Scotland's favourite poet and son, Robert Burns. Born

Brandy Alexander Day image

Brandy Alexander Day

For no particular reason we know of, today has been declared Brandy Alexander Day. Hoorah!

Strength & taste guide:


Review:

This appropriately named brandy-based cocktail benefits from dilution, hence my addition of a splash of water. Modern bartending convention might lead you to stir rather than shake this cocktail, which would be a shame, as it's better shaken!

History:

Adapted from a recipe by Charles Schumann, Munich, Germany, and published in his American Bar. Very similar to Jerry Thomas' Fancy Brandy Cocktail, published in the 1862 edition of his The Bar-tenders Guide.

107. Brandy Cocktail.
(Use small bar glass)
3 or 4 dashes of gum syrup.
2 do. Bitters (Bogart's).
1 wine-glass of brandy.
1 or 2 dashes of Curaçao.
Squeeze lemon peel; fill one-third full of ice, and stir with a spoon.

108. Fancy Brandy Cocktail.
(Use small bar glass)
The drink is made the same as the brandy cocktail, except that it is strained in a fancy wine-glass, and a piece of lemon peel thrown on top, and the edge of the glass moistened with lemon.

Jerry Thomas, The Bar-tenders Guide, 1862

Nutrition:

One serving of Fancy Brandy contains 164 calories.

Alcohol content:

  • 1.4 standard drinks
  • 25.47% alc./vol. (50.94° proof)
  • 19.2 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.

Join the Discussion


... comment(s) for Fancy Brandy

You must log in to your account to make a comment.

Report comment

You must be logged in to upvote or downvote a comment

Click here to login
New Year's Day image

New Year's Day

If Auld Lang Syne left your throat dry? And dancing left your feet sore? And drinking left your head fuzzy? Then resist the temptation to curl up in bed

Hot Toddy Day image

Hot Toddy Day

In the days before ice was easily available - and in most parts of the world, you needed to be pretty much royalty to own an ice house and keep it stocked

The day Prohibition started image

The day Prohibition started

One minute after midnight on this day in 1920, the Volstead Act became law and Prohibition descended on the United States, making it illegal to possess,

Beer Can Appreciation Day image

Beer Can Appreciation Day

Here at Difford's Guide we're huge fans of beer cans – indeed we prefer cans to bottles. So we're happy to support this marketing gimmick of a day from

Burns Night image

Burns Night

The evening of January 25th is when Scots everywhere hold Burns Suppers in honour of the birth of Scotland's favourite poet and son, Robert Burns. Born

Brandy Alexander Day image

Brandy Alexander Day

For no particular reason we know of, today has been declared Brandy Alexander Day. Hoorah!

Welcome to Difford's Guide

All editorial and photography on this website is copyright protected

© Odd Firm of Sin 2025