Brandy Sour

A BRANDY SOUR is a an ages-old alternative to the standard Whiskey Sour for those not fond of whiskey, or for those who seek the fruitier zest of brandy. Since brandy is produced by distilling wine or fermenting fruit juices versus whiskey’s distillation of grain mash (corn, rye, barley, wheat, etc.), brandy brings a sometimes sweeter blend to the Sour than whiskey. Proportions have changed many times over the years. The balance that I prefer is in the following recipe:

Requirements: Brandy or cognac, fresh lemon juice, Angostura bitters, simple syrup

• 2 oz. brandy
• 3/4 oz. fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. simple syrup
• 2 dashes Angostura or orange bitters
• lemon peel/wheel and maraschino cherry for garnish

Combine liquid ingredients in an ice-filled shaker. Shake to blend and chill, then strain into an ice-filled glass. Garnish with a lemon wheel and maraschino cherry.

Alternative Recipe There have been variations of the Brandy Sour over the last 170 years, sometimes with egg whites, sometimes with powdered sugar, but usually with fresh lemon juice. An equally fine version carries more of an orange-flavored theme. This one I prefer with a “lower shelf” brandy, or when orange juice happens to be in the refrigerator:

• 2 oz. brandy
• 1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 oz. orange juice
• 1/4 oz. simple syrup
• 3 dashes orange bitters
• orange slice and maraschino cherry for garnish

History: Dates back to early 1850’s: President Millard Fillmore, Harriot Beecher Stowe, Walt Whitman, Dostoevsky in Siberia, U.S. Fugitive Slave Act, purchase of New Mexico & Arizona, population of NYC @ 515,000 … Brandy Sour.