033 – Brandy Alexander

Sydney Covid ‘lock-down’ exploration of the ‘Brandy Alexander’, and earlier ‘Alexander’ cocktails.

Lockdown has inspired me to explore this famous cocktail. Let’s take a look at the classic ‘Alexander’ cocktail, and the cocktail that supplanted it, the ‘Brandy Alexander’.

Make your own ‘mix-at-home’ Locktail, the ‘Brandy Alexander’, or if you like, the original ‘Alexander’.

METHOD – Add 30ml Cognac (I used Martell VSOP, swap for Old Tom Style Gin if making the ‘Alexander’), 30ml Crème de Cacao (white or brown for darker colour), 30ml fresh creme, and 5gm (one teaspoon) of brown sugar (optional) into a cocktail shaker with a handful of ice. Shake well (15-20 seconds) until very cold and well ‘foamed’. Double strain into a Martini glass or Coupe. Garnish with some ground nutmeg.

HISTORICAL NOTES – The ‘Alexander’ started out as a ‘Gin-based’ drink, most likely in the early 1900’s, although possibly in the late 1800’s. It first appears in print in Hugo Ensslin’s 1916 ‘Recipes For Mixed Drinks’, calling for “one-third El Bart Gin, one-third Créme de Cacao, and one-third sweet cream”, shaken, strained and served.

There are even earlier Brandy-based cocktails, such as the ‘Brandy Crusta’ shown below, that we played around with in researching this ‘Brandy Alexander’ re-mix. In the ‘Brandy Crusta’, there is no creme, and the sweetener is Triple Sec and Sugar (in our case Grand Marnier and home-made 2:1 sugar syrup). Although drinking through a ‘hollow’ lemon-skin sealed to the glass with dry sugar-syrup was an interesting cocktail novelty, the cocktail is too ‘alcohol dense’ and it is not surprising the ‘Brandy Alexander’ has done better in terms of cocktail popularity.

It seems most likely that the ‘Alexander’ was created by Bartender Troy Alexander at the famous pre-Prohibition New York lobster restaurant ‘Rectors’, at some point in the the early 1900’s, certainly before appearing in Ensslin’s 1916 book. The ‘Gin-based’ version – an ‘Alexander’ became more popular during US Prohibition as another way of hiding the poor-quality of boot-leg spirits during Prohibition (1920–1933).

Brandy was scarce during Prohibition, and the ‘Brandy Alexander’ variant doesn’t seem to have appeared until after the end of Prohibition. By 1937, a recipe for the ‘Brandy Alexander’ appears in W.J. Tarling’s ‘Café Royal Cocktail Book – Coronation Edition’, at the time of King George VI (Queen Elizabeth II’s father) coronation in England. Interestingly the ‘Brandy Alexander’ seems to have originated across the Atlantic in the UK, and with no prohibition limitations, it may have been as early as 1922 with the London wedding of Princess Mary.

Whatever the origin, once the ‘Brandy Alexander’ came into popularity is supplanted the ‘Gin-based’ earlier cocktail. Seemingly a mix that suits the flavour of Brandy better than Gin. Let’s find out.

As an interesting footnote, the ‘Brandy Alexander’ was apparently a favorite of John Lennon who when ejected from the ‘Troubadour’ for heckling and drunkenness, said of the Brandy Alexander that it “tasted like milkshakes”.

THE OFFICIAL MIX – The ‘Alexander’ is listed in the International Bartender Association’s (IBA) ‘The Unforgetables’ list that includes only 33 cocktails, here. Their ‘official’ mix is 30ml Cognac, 30ml Crème de Cacao (brown), and 30ml fresh cream, shaken, strained into a cocktail glass and garnished with ground nutmeg. Strangely they have dropped the ‘Brandy’ from the name and ignored the original ‘Gin’ version, and even credit Henry MacElhone with its invention. I’m unclear on how, or the license to suggest the current cocktail is the same as the ‘gin-based’ origin.

TASTING NOTES – It is understandable that this could hide poor grade Gin, but it is always best to use quality ingredients when you can. The Hammer & Son, Old English Gin is an amazing ‘Old Tom’ style Gin, but this cocktail just doesn’t blend flavours as well with Gin, you just get the Cacao, nutmeg and cream.

As soon as you add quality Cognac, and the Martell V.S.O.P. is amazing for this mix, it changes completely to include the caramels, and other sweetness in the Cognac, enhanced by the fresh cream, to as John Lennon said, “taste like milkshakes”.

LOCKTAIL CHANGES – I have kept the early 1900’s approach of one-third of each key ingredient, of course you can play with this, but it does seem to work best in my opinion. I have also added some brown sugar, rather than using sweet cream and I have gone for the ‘red cask’ Martell, as I think that Cognac is the best suited for this drink. Finally I used Joseph Cartron’s Crème de Cacao, as I think it has an amazing flavour, going with the flavour over the colour. I would probably use dark Crème de Cacao if I could source one that tasted as good.

YOUR LOCKTAIL EXPERIENCE – If you’d rather taste than read, I am progressively building an ingredient list and other sourcing information on this site. I will re-use ingredients where I can (good for my budget too), so that the cost goes down overtime if you are ‘playing at home’.

Let me know what you think.

Cocktails you’d like reinvented.

Recipes you’ve tried and your ‘score’.

This is the third of the 1921-1930 (‘roaring twenties’) bracket of ‘Locktail’ remixes. Full list in the index.