The classic Brandy Alexander

The very first version was made with Gin and of course lost to time, one of the earliest printed versions of this drink came from Hugo Ensslin's book "Recipes For Mixed Drinks" published in 1916. And while there is some debate behind who it was that 86ed the Gin and replaced it with Brandy or French Cognac the most likely story is that it was created at Rector's in NYC sometime in the early 1900's, but there are may stories surrounding it's origin.

One of those stories is that it was made for the London Wedding of Princess Mary and Viscount Lascelles in 1922. Another is that famous Drama Critic and Algonquin Round Table member Alexander Wolcott claims it was named after him, and still other sources claim that it was named after Russian Tsar Alexander II.

But the most likely story was that it was created by a bartender named Troy Alexander and was made for a party celebrating the creation of a fictional Character, Phoebe Snow, which was used to advertise clean burning coal in the locomotive industry. Traveling by train at the time was hard on passengers, after a long trip by train, passengers would disembark covered in soot from the burning of the coal powering the train. The only trains that wouldn't soil it's passengers were those burning a clean form of coal called "Anthracite". The Delaware, Lackawana and Western Railroad Company owned vast mines of Anthracite and could rightfully claim that they wouldn't make passengers filthy. To promote this an advertising agency executive named Earnest Elmo Calkins created the Character of Phoebe Snow, a young socialite dressed all in white who could travel by train and not get dirty.

I hope you enjoyed this little bit of history and obviously the cocktail too!

Here's links to the tools I'm using in this episode:
Cocktail Kingdom Mixing Glass: https://amzn.to/2FiIlRX
Barfly Measuring Cup Jigger:https://amzn.to/2CfZ6tN
Barfly "Fly" Stirring Spoon: https://amzn.to/2RZ9OKA
Barfly Julep Strainer: https://amzn.to/2T9KKkN

We are happy to announce that we are officially sponsored by Barfly Mixology Gear. Barfly makes very high quality professional bar equipment. Their barware essentials and accessories are designed to deliver optimal appearance, temperature consistency and proportion in every glass so you can achieve masterful results. Definitely check them out at: https://www.barflybymercer.com/home/

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The Specs:

1.5oz (45ml) Brandy or Cognac
1oz (30ml) Creme de Cacao
Top Heavy Cream

Recipe For Cream:
Fill squeeze bottle 3/4 full with heavy cream and add
.25oz (7.5ml) Creme De Cacao and .25oz (7.5ml) Carolans Irish Cream (or Bailey's)