How Did The Brandy Alexander Get Its Name?
Have you ever heard of something called a Brandy Alexander? If the answer is no, then you really don’t know what you’re missing. Suffice it to say that this is arguably one of the best dessert cocktails out there. It incorporates cognac, creme de cacao and cream, all mixed together in order to create just the right flavor. As you might have guessed, it’s not at all uncommon to incorporate brandy into the recipe. Sometimes, you’ll even find these drinks made with gin. If you really want to get creative (and delicious), you can also incorporate ice cream. If you do so, the drink is then effectively called a frozen Brandy Alexander.
More About This Delicious Cocktail
In any case, the cocktail sounds absolutely divine. Whether you use ice cream or not, it’s something that might lure even those who don’t typically drink into saying yes. Obviously, you’re probably already making out your shopping list in order to get the ingredients you need to make one for yourself, provided you haven’t done so already. While you’re doing that, you might also be wondering more about the history of this cocktail. More specifically, you might be curious about how it got its name.
Truth or Rumor?
As it turns out, there are a lot of different rumors regarding not only the history of the drink, but how it got its name. The overwhelming majority of individuals believe that it was actually a name coined in the early 20th century by a bartender in New York named Troy Alexander. He was a bartender at a popular establishment called Rector’s at the time and they were in the middle of hosting an event to honor a particular character that had been in several ad campaigns which had become quite popular, named Phoebe Snow. As legend has it, the idea was to create a cocktail that was white in color in order to keep with the theme honoring this character’s last name. Most people agree that it was indeed Alexander’s creation and that he spent some time coming up with it. Supposedly, he then spent even more time perfecting it, trying different ingredients and in different combinations before he finally found something that he considered suitable. If this legend has any truth to it, it would follow suit that the drink was an almost instant hit, something that Rector’s eventually put on their menu. According to most accounts, the popularity of the drink grew from there and has continued to increase over the years. Today, it’s possible to find this cocktail available at some establishments, but it’s also surprising at how there are still relatively few of them that serve it. Depending on where you live, it’s interesting to note that you might even be surprised at the relatively few establishments that even know how to make one properly.
What Does It Taste Like?
If you’ve never had a Brandy Alexander before, you’re probably wondering what it tastes like. Clearly, it sounds delicious, but how does it actually taste? You might be interested to learn that there was a time during the 1970s when John Lennon and a group of friends were at a famous LA club called the Troubadour when they were served these drinks enmasse. At the time, Lennon had supposedly made a comment that it was hard not to get drunk from these cocktails because they tasted like milkshakes. If there is even a shred of truth to that comment, then you might be in trouble because it can be very difficult to avoid enjoying a milkshake (or two or three) when you’re out for a day of fun and relaxation. When you add alcohol to the mix, things get even more interesting. That’s genuinely the only concern that you have with this particular drink. Since they do indeed taste like milkshakes, it’s very easy to have one too many and end up in trouble before you even realize what’s happening. Therefore, it’s a good idea to limit yourself to only one or two of these drinks if you’re out in public. If you really want to enjoy them to the fullest extent possible, your best bet is to purchase the ingredients that you need to make them at home and then enjoy until your heart’s content.
The Drink In Popular Culture
If you pay attention, you might notice that this is a drink that shows up on several occasions in popular culture no, not the least of which includes a number of feature films and even television shows, many of which were popular during the 1970s and 80s. For example, the drink was mentioned in the first episode of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”. It also showed up in other popular sitcoms such as “Three’s Company” and much later, “The Big Bang Theory.” To this day, it continues to be a popular staple in both television and film. Occasionally, you’ll even find it in a print ad. It’s entirely possible that the white drink you’re seeing on your screen is a White Russian, but it could just as easily be a Brandy Alexander. At the end of the day, this is a great cocktail to try if you’re someone who genuinely enjoys cocktails. Even if you don’t drink that many of them but you’re curious about how it tastes, it’s entirely possible that you might be embarking on something that you truly love. This is a rich drink that tastes more like a dessert than alcohol and for that reason alone, it has become a favorite of a number of individuals over the years. It’s worth mentioning that this is typically the version without ice cream. When you add ice cream into the mix, it kicks things up by several levels and makes this particular cocktail almost impossible to resist. Now that you know how the drink got its name and you know a bit about its history and what it tastes like, isn’t it time you did yourself a favor and made one for yourself?
