Brandy Daisy

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (35 ratings)

Serve in a Wine glass

Ingredients:
1 12 oz Rémy Martin V.S.O.P. cognac
23 oz Yellow Chartreuse (or génépy liqueur)
12 oz Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
13 oz Monin Pure Cane Syrup (65.0°brix, equivalent to 2:1 rich syrup)
13 oz Soda from siphon
× 1 1 serving
Read about cocktail measures and measuring

Garnish: Seasonal berries & mint sprig

How to make:

STIR first 4 ingredients with ice and strain into glass filled with crushed ice. TOP with a splash of soda and briefly stir.

Review:

Chartreuse notes show strongly in this short refreshing cocktail, with cognac providing the base and lemon juice contributing to freshening citrus balance.

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History:

The Brandy Daisy appears in Jerry Thomas' 2nd edition of his Bar-Tender's Guide (1887) and then the 2nd edition of Harry Johnson's Bartenders Manual (1888). Tellingly, both bartenders omit the Brandy Daisy, and indeed Daisies in general from their first editions. We prefer Johnson's recipe.

Brandy Daisy.
(Use small bar glass.)
3 or 4 dashes gum syrup.
2 or 3 do. Orange cordial.
The juice of half a lemon.
1 small wineglass of brandy.
Fill glass half full of shaved ice.
Shake well and strain into a glass, and fill up with Seltzer water from a syphon.

Jerry Thomas, The Bar-Tender's Guide, How To Mix All Kinds of Plain And Fancy Drinks (2md edition), 1876

BRANDY DAISY.
(Use a large bar glass.)
½ table-spoon of sugar;
2 or 3 dashes of Lemon juice;
1 squirt of Selters water, dissolve well with a spoon;
½ glass of Chartreuse (yellow);
Fill up the glass with fine ice;
1 glass of Brandy;
Stir up well with a spoon, place the fruit into a fancy bar glass, strain the ingredients into it, and serve.

Harry Johnson, New And Improved Bartender's Manual, 1888

Nutrition:

One serving of Brandy Daisy contains 209 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 1.5 standard drinks
  • 20.94% alc./vol. (20.94° proof)
  • 20.9 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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James Casswell’s Avatar James Casswell
8th September 2023 at 20:46
Im increasingly coming to the conclusion that it's not really a cocktail if it doesn't have Chartreuse of one colour or the other..... either way this is fantastic.
16th August 2023 at 19:51
Currently my favourite cocktail, but I generally prefer other versions. For those browsing, note that my preferred Jerry Thomas version more often seen elsewhere uses orange curaçao liqueur instead of yellow chartreuse, as well as more sugar syrup and soda. Do play around and consider mixing all these elements; the Daisy is a precursor to many cocktails which are already well-established and many variations have already been tried and seen to work well. I found ginger ale instead of soda good.