Brandy Milk Punch

Take two ounces of brandy, one cup of milk, and one teaspoon of powdered sugar, shake and strain into a collins glass. Sprinkle some nutmeg on top. Chris is out on this due to lactose intolerance. This drink also marks the passing of the first bottle of brandy and we are barely a third of the way through the chapter.

This just tastes like f***ing milk. Or maybe more like a less pungent eggnog. Not good. I think I am more bothered by the name of this drink than by the taste of it. If it had a different name and came in a fancy glass with a straw, I might be a little kinder on the taste. Milk and punch are not two words that should ever go together. But it is still better than some of the recent drinks, mostly because the taste of brandy is well disguised.

Brandy Gump Cocktail

Shake one and a half ounces of brandy, half a teaspoon of grenadine, and the juice of half lemon with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

This drink tastes remarkably like the Brandy Daisy. This makes a fair amount of sense, since the ingredients are essentially the same.

Shannon is angry at Mr. Boston for having so many similar drinks this chapter.

Brandy Fix

Mix the juice of half a lemon, one teaspoon of powdered sugar, and one teaspoon of water in a highball glass. Add shaved ice and two and a half ounces of brandy.

Shannon likes this drink. It is refreshing. The brandy taste is still a little strong, but the shaved ice cuts it pretty significantly.

I like it too. It tastes like brandied lemonade.

Brandy Daisy

Take the juice of half a lemon, half a teaspoon of powdered sugar, one teaspoon of grenadine or raspberry syrup, and two ounces of brandy. Shake with ice and strain into a stein or eight ounce metal cup. Add cubes of ice and serve.

We did not have a stein or metal cup handy, so we used some random glassware. We also used grenadine as we had it on hand and no raspberry syrup.

This drink is interesting.

Shannon likes it more than what we’ve had to drink the last few days, probably due to the presence of grenadine. She thinks it tastes sour and I tend to agree. I’m still having some trouble wrapping my head around it.

Brandied Port

Take one ounce brandy, one ounce tawny port, one tablespoon lemon juice, and one teaspoon maraschino. Shake with ice and strain into an old fashioned glass over ice.

I’m not really sure about the difference between standard and tawny port, but we are just using the port we have lying around. I don’t think it is bad, but it’s not great. Shannon made a face and said it tastes like sour red wine.

Luckily I knocked this drink over, so there is less of it to inflict upon ourselves.

Barbie's Special Cocktail

Take one and a half ounces of apricot flavored brandy, one teaspoon of light cream, and a quarter teaspoon of gin. Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. We substituted half and half for light cream and Chris is sitting this one out due to his lactose intolerance. "Lactose intolerance."

This drink is surprisingly tasty. It's a little strong, and has a faint taste of medicine, but I kind of a like it. It's tangy and just a little bit sweet.

Brandy Collins

Shake the juice of half a lemon, a teaspoon of powdered sugar, and two ounces of brandy with ice. Pour over ice into a collins glass and fill with club soda.

Shannon and I both really like this drink. In spite of its actual ingredients, Shannon sensed a hint of lime. I think it is just delightful.

Interestingly, it tastes similar to pre-made collins mix. The difference is that I find collins mix to be sickly-sweet as opposed to just sweet.

Brandy Cocktail

This one is simple, two ounces of brandy, two dashes of bitters, and a quarter teaspoon of simple syrup. Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Both Shannon and I agree that this drink is heinous. I wonder if my simple syrup was not up to snuff or I was a little too generous with the bitters.

Apricot Cocktail

Yesterday was payday, so I bought a bottle of gin. So we are travelling back in the brandy chapter. To make the apricot cocktail, take the juice of one quarter orange, the juice of one quarter lemon, one and a half ounces of apricot flavored brandy, and one teaspoon of gin, shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

I think this drink is quite tasty. The orange juice and and apricot flavor brandy work really well together. The gin gives it just the right amount of kick.

Shannon also really likes this drink.

Brandy Cobbler

Dissolve one teaspoon of powdered sugar in two ounces of club soda in a ten ounce goblet. Fill with shaved ice, then add two ounces of brandy.

I liked this drink, unlike other drinks with powdered sugar, I did not find it too sweet.

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My main issue with this drink is that it is sweet without any corresponding tanginess. I found myself missing the lemon and/or lime in my other favorite brandy drinks. I could comfortably sip this drink for a while, but I won't rush to have it again. /Shan

Brandy Cassis

Take 1.5 oz brandy, 1 oz lemon juice, and a dash of creme de cassis. Shake with cracked ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

I find this drink to be strangely sour. Shannon wonders whether I put the "right amount of acid" in this. She claims it is sour patch kid sour. I tend to agree. So if you like sour, you should like this drink.

Brandied Madeira

Take 1 ounce of brandy, 1 ounce of madeira, and half an ounce of dry vermouth. Shake with ice and strain into an old fashioned glass over ice cubes.

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Shannon here. Chris says it's bad, but not as bad as he was expecting. He thinks the ice probably helps a good deal.

Mainly, I just want to know why madeira consistently tastes like sweat. Seriously.

Bosom Caresser

Shake an ounce of brandy, an ounce of Madeira and half an ounce of triple sec with ice and call it A Bosom Caresser. Actual bosom caressing optional.

Chris says he tastes primarily the triple sec. Given his predilection for triple sec in general, he’s a fan of the old B.C.

I’ve been much happier to drink brandy this chapter, but the combination with Madeira here is dreadful. No matter how much triple sec you add, there’s no escaping the nauseating wine. I like bosom caressing as much as the next girl (more?) but I’m turning this caress down.

Betsy Ross

From Friday:

Take one and a half ounces of brandy, one and a half ounces of port and a dash of triple sec. Stir with cracked ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

This drink is at least an appealing ruby color. Chris took his first sip without comment. “The first taste was heinous, but it’s starting to grow on me.” This does not bode well for me at all.

Full-body shudder. Not only does it have a very medicinal taste up front, but it finishes with notes of sweat.

Bombay Cocktail

Also from Friday:

Take half an ounce of dry vermouth, half an ounce of sweet vermouth, an ounce of brandy, a quarter teaspoon of anisette and a half a teaspoon of triple sec. Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

This drink is truly bizarre. It almost tastes savory in an indiscernible way.

Chris says he doesn’t taste anything and that all he gets is a whiff of anisette. Maybe that’s a better description of this cocktail.

Even despite its strange taste of nothingness, we are agreed that this drink far surpasses Betsy Ross.

Apple Brandy Rickey

Fill a highball glass with ice. Add the juice of half a lime, one and a half ounces of apple brandy, and then fill with club soda. Leave the lime in the glass.

Being without actual limes, we did not leave the lime in the glass. I wonder if this made a difference because the lime taste was largely hidden. Actually, so was the apple brandy. It tasted a lot like club soda, which is probably why Shannon liked it.

Apple Brandy Sour

Shake two ounces apple brandy, the juice of half a lemon, and half a teaspoon of powdered sugar and strain into a sour glass.



I like this drink, but I happen to be a fairly sour fellow. If I had not made the drink myself, I would have had no idea that there was any apple brandy in it. Shannon thought this drink was ok, in spite of the fact it tasted like sulfuric acid.

Apple Brandy Highball

Pour two ounces of apple brandy over ice into a highball glass. Fill with club soda. This drink can also be made with ginger ale instead of club soda.

Shannon and I both agree this that drink is better than the apple brandy cocktail. It tastes like a more highly carbonated hard cider.

Apple Brandy Cocktail

Take one and a half ounces of apple brandy, one teaspoon of grenadine, and one teaspoon of lemon juice. Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

It's not bad, but I can't quite put my finger on what I'm tasting. The apple and lemon flavors are engaged in outright war on my palette.

Shannon reaction was negative. She thinks it smelled better than it tasted.

We need to give a special shout-out to Kim, Dawn, and Steve for procuring this apple brandy for us. Many thanks.

While we are on the topic of the apple brandy, we should note that it is impossible to find true apple brandy anymore. We are using a product known as Applejack. It is 35% apple brandy and 65% grain neutral spirits. They claim that George Washington was a fan. Somehow I doubt that.

Bee Stinger

The bee stinger is half an ounce of creme de menthe and an ounce and a half of blackberry flavored brandy. Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Shannon thinks it tastes like Aim, as in the toothpaste. This isn't exactly bad, but it isn't great either.

Guest judge Kerry thinks it is quite good.

I think it is ok, but perhaps a little heavy on the mint. It was the end of the bottle of creme de menthe, so it might not have been perfectly proportioned.

Apricot Fizz

Take the juice of half a lemon and half a lime, 2 oz apricot flavored brandy, and 1 tsp powdered sugar and shake with ice. Strain into a highball glass over two ice cubes and fill with club soda.

Shannon likes this drink and notes that now that we are no longer in the bourbon chapter she does not shrink in fear from the drinks we are making.

I think this drink is ok, but perhaps a little too sweet. This might have to do with my rather inexact measurement of the powdered sugar.

Due to the high number of ingredients required for the brandy chapter, you will probably notice a little more deviation from alphabetical order than in the last chapter. Since it is economically unfeasible to simply buy a whole bar at once we will be jumping around as we add bottles to our stash.

Apricot Cooler

Dissolve 1/2 tsp of powdered sugar in 2 oz club soda in a collins glass. Add ice and 2 oz apricot flavored brandy. Enjoy. This drink can also be made with ginger ale instead of club soda, but we do not currently have any ginger ale on hand.

The first thing I noticed about this drink was how the powdered sugar caused the club soda to fizz. The effect was good, but the ultimate outcome less so. I find this drink to be a little too sweet. Shannon thinks it tastes ok, but vaguely like medicine, but that could be because she has been taking medicine more or less nonstop for the past two days.

Apricot Brandy Rickey

Take the juice of half lime and 2 oz Apricot Brandy. Pour over ice into a highball glass, then fill with club soda.

This drink is quite tasty. Almost like apricot soda. I think, however, I may have added too much club soda.

Shannon loves it. It is her favorite drink in the whole project so far. She says it smells/tastes a little like coconut and she could drink it forever.

American Beauty

Take 1 tbsp Orange Juice, 1 tbsp Grenadine, 1/2 oz Dry Vermouth, 1/2 oz Brandy, 1/4 tsp Creme de Menthe (White), shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Top it off with a dash of port. Per our previous post, we substituted Creme de Menthe (Green).

This drink has a muted red brick look. It tastes much better. We are both of the opinion that brandy makes some fine mixed drinks.

Shannon: "It's a tasty bugger." She was not expecting mint to mix well with these ingredients, but she admits to being wrong. She wouldn't want to drink a tall glass of this, but in the smaller cocktail size it is quite good.

Alexander Cocktail No. 2

Take 1 oz Creme de Cacao (White), 1 oz Brandy, and 1 oz light cream. Shake with ice and serve. Due to my lactose intolerance I will be sitting this one out. The reader should also be aware that we substituted Creme de Cacao (Brown) and half and half for the light cream.

Shannon' s first reaction was "Ooooooohhhh. This is a delight! I am going to drink this all the time." Her second reaction was "I'm a big fan. What else can I say?"

After Dinner Cocktail

We begin the brandy chapter with the after dinner cocktail.

Take one ounce of apricot flavored brandy, one ounce of triple sec, and the juice of one lime. Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

This drink is rather good. The lime juice and triple sec mellow out the brandy, but allow the apricot flavor to come through.

Shannon was prepared to be immediately repulsed. (Perhaps it was all that bourbon). She is happy to report that in spite of the strong initial taste of alcohol, the drink is rather pleasant with a nice apricot flavor.

Bourbon Roundup

Well, we finally finished the chapter on bourbon. But before we move on to brandy, some final thoughts.

My favorite drink in this chapter was the coffee old fashioned. It was a really interesting concept and tasted quite good. My least favorite was probably the creole lady.

Shannon's favorite drinks were the Americana and the Thoroughbred Cooler. Her love of champagne and refreshing drinks comes through in this choice. Her least favorites were bourbon on the rocks and the creole lady.

The moral of the story: don't drink creole ladies.

We missed out on four drinks from this chapter due to missing ingredients: Brighton Punch (Benedictine), Kentucky Colonel Cocktail (Benedictine), Magnolia Maiden (Mandarine Napoleon), and Southern Lady (Creme de Noyaux). Before the project is finished we promise to return to these missing drinks.

Bring on the Brandy!

Trilby Cocktail

Take 1.5 oz bourbon, .75 oz sweet vermouth, and two dashes of oranage bitters. Shake with ice and pour into a cocktail glass. Being unable to obtain orange bitters, I substituted regular bitters.

Shannon thinks the sweet vermouth saves it by giving it a nice finish. Nonetheless it has a sandpapery feel like that of hair spray.

I think it is okay, but perhaps could use a little less vermouth.

And thus ends the bourbon chapter.

Thoroughbred Cooler

Pour 1 oz bourbon, 1 oz sour mix, and 1 oz orange juice over ice into a highball glass. Fill with lemon-lime soda. Add a dash of grenadine.

This beverage is quite tasty and, as you might have noticed, not very alcoholic. Shannon thinks it is appropriately named because it is quite refreshing.

Stiletto

To make the stiletto pour 1.5 oz bourbon, 1.5 tsp amaretto, and the juice of 1/2 a lemon over ice into an old fashioned glass. Stir and serve.

Perhaps I miscalculated the amount of juice in half a lemon, but the lemon taste really seems to overpower the rest of this drink much to its detriment.

Shannon shivered upon tasting this drink. She agrees with my assertion on the overly lemony taste of this drink.

Southern Peach

From Saturday:

Start with a hurricane glass full of ice. Pour 1/8 oz. grenadine over the ice, then add 1.5 oz bourbon. Meanwhile pour 2 oz. orange juice, 2 oz. sour mix, and 1 oz peach schnapps into a blender and blend well. Slowly pour the mixture into the glass.

Shannon despises this drink. She says it is so weird and sweet and fruity. On first taste I certainly agreed. The peach schnapps seemed to overwhelm everything else. On second taste it wasn’t quite so bad, but it still wasn’t good.