Name: Brandy Sangaree
Total time: 2 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 45 ml Cognac (brandy); 22.5 ml Tawny port; 5 ml Sugar syrup (2:1)

Brandy Sangaree
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Glass:

Photographed in a Speakeasy Nick & Nora 4.75oz

Ingredients:
1 ¹⁄₂ fl oz	Cognac (brandy)
³⁄₄ fl oz	Cockburn's Tawny Eyes Port
¹⁄₆ fl oz	Sugar syrup 'rich' (2 sugar to 1 water, 65.0°Brix)

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

Prepare:

Select and pre-chill a NICK & NORA GLASS.
Prepare garnish of grated nutmeg.

How to make:

STIR all ingredients with ice.
FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.

Garnish:

Dust with freshly grated nutmeg.

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Tawny port - Sulphur Dioxide/Sulphites

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Review:

Port and Brandy (AKA "Randy") are a match made in heaven, here subtly enriched with a touch of sugar.

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Variations/similar cocktails:

Served on-the-rocks in a highball or old-fashioned glass.

Nutrition:

One serving of Brandy Sangaree contains 154 calories

Alcohol content:

1.3 standard drinks
24.2% alc./vol. (48.4° proof)
17.6 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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Showing 10 of 14 comments for Brandy Sangaree.
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John CARR

20th February at 13:35

Note to self that a good stir can make such a difference. With a VSOP cognac and nice port the dilution can provide the essential space for the complex of flavours to come out and play on the tongue. And love how the sugar syrup provides not only mouthfeel but also amplifies the astringent and aromatic characters.

Simon Sedgley

4th February at 13:31

One of our favourite late night cocktails. Lately we've been experimenting with the addition of amari. To date, an added 5ml Autonomy Myrtle Amaro or Casa Allora dalloro adds lovely complexity.

Matt

31st January at 00:01

Delicious, but I like the Randy Sangaree better - there is more fruit and vanilla, and it isn't quite as boozy hot. That said, congratulations to the bartender ages ago who first came up with combining brandy and port - a combination that exceeds the sum of the parts!

Neil O’Rourke

15th December 2025 at 20:58

Asbsch 8 yr German, grahams 10yr tawny and home made gomme made this a Christmas essential 👌

Mike

21st November 2025 at 00:24

I love a complex cocktail with a bunch of ingredients. This is not that and yet, I love it still. Simple but very effective. For a twist, I made another with a dash on absinthe and it was also really good.

Maison Rouge VSOP, Sandeman’s 10 year Tawny, Liber & Co gum syrup.

Simon Sedgley

18th November 2025 at 16:01

The recipe is genius in its simplicity, perfectly balanced. And the dash of sugar, for us, invited experimentation. So we reduced the sugar syrup to 2.5ml and added 7.5ml Merlet Lune d'Abricot Liqueur. We can imagine many other variants.

Mike Gibb

31st July 2025 at 21:49

Much better than the Betsy Ross (with equal parts cognac and port). There's enough port here to enrich the cognac perfectly, and enough cognac to provide a warmth that is enhanced by a dusting of freshly grated nutmeg. The combination is perfect, and the proportions are too.
[Brandy Sangaree]

John CARR

25th September 2024 at 13:02

Tried on the Rock, but I thought much better served up to savour the flavours and aromas.

John CARR

15th September 2024 at 14:42

First time trying the classic port and brandy combination. Simply, it works. A match made in heaven. I love nutmeg so had the requisite whole ‘megs and baby grater. Five stars no question.

John CARR

15th September 2024 at 15:16

For my second iteration ran out of sugar syrup so used Luxardo instead, which worked

John CARR

15th September 2024 at 14:45

I used high end ingredients, but even with more modest means this is going to work. But I do recommend investing in the nutmeg greater and whole nutmegs 😉

Annabelle Egginton

18th February 2024 at 19:42

Yum

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