Cocktail No 49 Brandy Crusta

From the ingredients this tastes very different from what I was expecting. Its quite sweet from the sugar syrup and the Maraschino (kindly sent over from Naples by my brother, where it costs 2.60 Euros compared to £23 here in the UK!).

There is a deepness from the Angostura Bitters, mixing with the Brandy which is always a great combination. But its the small amount of Maraschino which is the star of the drink. Its a sweet bitter cherry infusion and it subtly changes the brandy - I don't think I would identify it as Cherry in a blind tasting, but I wouldn't have said Brandy either.

Due to the price of Maraschino, this is one to order in the Cocktail Lounge I suspect, unless you have a link to southern Italy.

Its meant to have a sugar coating on the rim of the glass, which is what Crusta means, but I couldn't be bothered with that.

Recipe

If you want the Crusta, dip the rim of the cocktail glass in lemon juice then in caster sugar.

Put ice in shaker with 2 measure Brandy, 1 teaspoon sugar syrup, 3 dashes of Maraschino and 2 dashes of Angostura Bitters. Shake and strain into the cocktail glass. Decorate with spiral of lemon peel.