Most people know this cocktail as Brandy Alexander, however, in simple words, if its gin based it is called “Alexander” and if we use Brandy, it is called a “Brandy Alexander”. The Alexander cocktail can be classified as a sweet, digestive and “anytime” drink.
There are many variations of this drink and the most common ones would be Brandy Alexander which consists of Brandy, chocolate liquor (crème de Cacao), and fresh cream. If we use coffee liquor (Kahlua) it becomes a Coffee Alexander. Similarly, if you want to make a Blue Alexander, simply add Blue Curacao.
There are many stories about the origin of this Cocktail. Some say that it was created at the wedding of Princess Mary in London in 1922. Other stories include the name of Troy Alexander, a bartender in New York who created this cocktail for a special advertising campaign and named it Alexander in 1929.
Brandy Alexander has the right balance of sweetness and strength. The chocolate liquor combines well with brandy and the cream gives an overall roundness to the whole cocktail. This cocktail is not completed without adding some spice like grated nut Meg which really enhances the flavor of the cocktail and at the same time creates a decoration which is simple, yet very effective.
At LRM we teach our students to make “Brandy Alexander” the following way:
Glass: Cocktail glass
Equipment: Cocktail shaker
Garnish: Nut-Meg
Ingredients/Mise-en-place: Brandy, Crème de Cacao and Fresh cream. Preparation: In a cocktail shaker, add 5cl of Brandy, 4cl of Crème de Cacao, 6cl of fresh cream, shake well and pour it into a chilled cocktail glass. Place few straws on top of the cocktail glass and grate nut-meg.
For more cocktail demonstration videos from the LRM Cocktail Corner, we suggest trying these also:
