Name: Carlton Banks
Total time: 3 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 30 ml Cognac (brandy); 30 ml Cherry brandy; 2 dash Orange bitters; 2 dash Boker's bitters; 45 ml Brut sparkling wine

Carlton Banks
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Serve in a Coupe glass

Ingredients:
1 oz	Rémy Martin V.S.O.P. cognac
1 oz	Heering Cherry Liqueur
2 dash	Orange Bitters by Angostura
2 dash	Boker's bitters
1 ¹⁄₂ oz	Brut champagne/sparkling wine chilled

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

Select and pre-chill a Coupe glass.
Prepare garnish of orange zest twist.
STIR first 4 ingredients with ice.
STRAIN into chilled glass.
TOP with sparkling wine.
EXPRESS orange zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Brut champagne/sparkling wine - Sulphur Dioxide/Sulphites

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Cocktail of the day:

4th June 2025 is National Cognac Day

Review:

It's reminiscent of a classic Champagne Cocktail, with brandy, sparkling wine and zesty orange flavours dominating. Given that the recipe calls for a whole shot, it's surprising how little cherry brandy notes are evident in the finished cocktail.

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History:

Created in 2016 by Seth Brammer at Filament restaurant in Dallas, Texas (at 2626 Main St., closed in August 2017). Seth's original recipe uses the same proportions shown here but with Paul Beau VS cognac, Luxardo Sangue Morlacco, Regan's Orange Bitters, Bakers bitters and Val de Mer Brut.

More cocktails by Seth Brammer

Nutrition:

One serving of Carlton Banks contains 202 calories

Alcohol content:

1.4 standard drinks
18.56% alc./vol. (18.56° proof)
19.7 grams of pure alcohol

More After dinner/digestif cocktails
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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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Showing 9 comments for Carlton Banks.
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JeffAlex

1st January at 18:04

OK, any idea why this cocktail is named for a character from The Cosby Show?

Sean Baron

13th March at 01:09

Don’t you mean The Fresh.Prince?

1 reply

Chris Brislawn

29th December 2024 at 00:01

A great use for that partial bottle of bubbly left over from Christmas! Using both Boker's and Angostura Orange Bitters sounded pretty heavy in a champagne cocktail, so I kept the Boker's but changed the Angostura to the lighter, more orangey Fee Bros. West Indian Orange Bitters (with Camus VSOP) and was very pleased with the results. Angostura (or maybe Bitter Truth) Aromatic Bitters might be a reasonable sub for Boker's, though, as Difford suggests below. Happy Holidays everyone!

Morten Carlsbaek

22nd November 2024 at 15:10

I really like this champagne cocktail, but what do you use, if you don't have Boker's bitters? Someone with some advice? I tried with one dash Scrappy´s chocolate bitter and one dash Peychaud's bitters and is was nice but too chocolate. Tried to repair with more champagne, cognac, and Heering and it didn't work. I assume it is not supposed to be a chocolate tasting cocktail...

Simon Difford

22nd November 2024 at 15:51

There's nothing quite like Boker's, but Angostura is perhaps an option.

1 reply

Simon Sedgley

21st July 2024 at 15:00

On Christmas morning, it's summer where we are. So we like to go with a Sabot or a Russian Punch. If I were in Blighty on a cold Christmas day this cocktail would be perfect.

Meredith Frost

13th October 2023 at 22:00

Can’t say I really liked this. It seemed too sweet and sort of heavy.

Toby Chambers

11th September 2023 at 17:36

The champagne does its best to keep everyone organised, but the cherry was still too strong for me. I might try it with 15ml cherry brandy next time...

Asher Günther

14th March 2023 at 06:42

Is it intentional that this recipe calls for a scant 2 drops of Boker's rather than 2 dashes?

Simon Difford

14th March 2023 at 18:41

Should indeed be dashes rather than drops. I've corrected. Many thanks for bringing to my attention.

Calvin Grant

4th June 2021 at 04:25

This is really good and currently my favorite champagne cocktail. Haven't got the Bonkers Bitters yet so I used two capfulls Underberg. And yes the cherry notes were very subtle yet rich. Must try this again with the Sangue Morlacco. Also, I mixed another one with Hayman's Sloe Gin in place of the Cherry Herring. Made a suprisingly different drink. Lighter and seemingly drier yet fascinatingly complex.

John Hinojos

24th March 2021 at 03:52

Was a little concerned this may be sweet, but the cognac, bitters, and dry champaign does make a smooth and enjoyable drink. Could be used anytime, but I had it after dinner.

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