Brandy Crusta

Serve in

Garnish:

Some merely shove a wide long piece of lemon peel around the inside of the glass rim, leaving the drinker to push the peel down into the glass in order to sip from the drink. Instead I prefer the peel to become a watertight extension to the glass. Find a lemon which fits snugly in the top of a small wine, flute or sour glass. Cut off both ends of the fruit and carefully remove the pulp to leave a barrel-shaped shell of skin. Place in the top of the glass. Wet the edge of the glass and exposed fruit shell with sugar syrup and dip in caster sugar to frost the edge of both peel and glass. Leave for a couple of hours to form a hard crust that helps secure the peel.

How to make:

SHAKE all ingredients with ice and fine strain into pre-prepared glass.

Review:

This old classic zings with fresh lemon and is beautifully balanced by the cognac base.

Variant:

Whiskey Crusta or Gin Crusta

History:

Created in the 1850s by Joseph Santini, an Italian from Trieste, in New Orleans, USA, either at the City Exchange in the French Quarter, or at his Jewel of the South saloon on Gravier Street in the American Quarter which he opened in 1855. The name refers to the crust of sugar around the rim.

Regarded by many as the forerunner to the Sidecar and, by extension, the Margarita, crusted sugar rim and all. The Brandy Crusta is a veritable member of cocktail royalty, so much so that it proudly takes its place as the fourth drink to be illustrated in the world's first cocktail book, Jerry Thomas' 1862 Bar-Tender's Guide where Santini is wrongly credited as being of Spanish origins and spelt Santana.

For more Crusta cocktail information see our page.

More cocktails by Joseph Santini

Nutrition:

175 calories

Alcohol content:

• 1.5 standard drinks
• 23.5% alc./vol. (47° proof)
• 20.7 grams of pure alcohol