Brandy Alexander

Difford's Guide
Discerning Drinkers (117 ratings)

How to make:

  1. Select and pre-chill a Coupe glass.
  2. Prepare garnish of express lemon zest twist and discard. Then dust with freshly grated nutmeg.
  3. SHAKE all ingredients with ice.
  4. FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.
Ingredients:
1 2/3 fl oz Rémy Martin V.S.O.P. cognac
1/2 fl oz Dark crème de cacao liqueur
1/2 fl oz Dutch Cacao white crème de cacao
1 fl oz Single cream/half-and-half
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Recipe contains the following allergens:

  • Single cream/half-and-half – Dairy

AKA:

Alexander No. 2, The Panama

Review:

This after-dinner classic is rich, creamy and subtly chocolaty.

History:

The original Alexander was gin-based, but in the early 1920s, Harry MacElhone, then a bartender at Ciro's in London, is credited with starting the trend of using brandy in place of gin. What became known as the Brandy Alexander quickly displaced the original gin-based cocktail.

MacElhone's creation of the brandy-based Alexander is supported by the first recipe for such a cocktail appearing in his 1923 Harry of Ciro's ABC of mixing cocktails

Alexander Cocktail.
⅓ Crème de Cacao, ⅓ Brandy, ⅓ Fresh Cream.
Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.

Harry MacElhone, Harry of Ciro's ABC of mixing cocktails, 1923

In his 1930 The Savoy Cocktail Book, Harry Craddock includes the gin-based Alexander Cocktail No. 1 and the brandy-based Alexander Cocktail No. 2, along with a gin-based and crème de menthe-influenced Alexander's Sister.

ALEXANDER COCKTAIL. (No. 1.)
½ Dry Gin.
¼ Crème de Cacao.
¼ Sweet Cream.
Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.

ALEXANDER COCKTAIL. (No. 2.)
⅓ Crème de Cacao.
⅓ Brandy. ⅓ Fresh Cream.
Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.

ALEXANDER's SISTER COCKTAIL.)
⅓ Gin. ⅓ Fresh Cream.
⅓ Crème de Menthe.
Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.

Ladies are advised to avoid this Cocktail as often as possible.

Harry Craddock, 1930

Nutrition:

258 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 1.4 standard drinks
  • 18.28% alc./vol. (36.56° proof)
  • 20.1 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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David Embury's birthday image

David Embury's birthday

The author of that seminal work, The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks, David Augustus Embury was born on this day in 1886 in Pine Woods, upstate New York. He

Guy Fawkes / Bonfire Night Cocktails image

Guy Fawkes / Bonfire Night Cocktails

Remember, remember the fifth of November Gunpowder, treason and plot. I see no reason, why gunpowder treason Should ever be forgot.

National Nacho Day image

National Nacho Day

Not a fan of nachos? Then today is nacho lucky day! Yes, today is National Nacho Day, a day dedicated to those delicious fried tortilla chips that we love

National Harvey Wallbanger Day image

National Harvey Wallbanger Day

Of all the cocktails to have its very own day, the Harvey Wallbanger is probably the most surprising. But, yes, Harvey Wallbanger Day is a thing in American.

Irish Coffee arrived in America this day image

Irish Coffee arrived in America this day

The splendidly named Stanton Delaplane, a columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, may have won a Pulitzer Prize for Reporting, but his legacy remains

Happy Hour Day image

Happy Hour Day

Every hour should be happy but in most bars, this term does not reflect a collective state of joyousness but a period of comparatively cheap booze. Not

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