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.