Cocktail No 52 - Butterfly Flip

A festive twist for the approaching season of goodwill.

This is essentially an enriched and sweetened Brandy Alexander and quite delicious. Well I omitted the sugar by mistake, so mine was closer to the Alexander.

Brandy with Crème de Cacao and cream is always a good combination. Add an egg yolk plus sugar and spice it up with nutmeg. If  you like Bailey's then throw your bottle in the bin and taste what its really meant to be like. Decadently thick on the tongue with a chocolat blast followed by the warmth of brandy coming through as it slips down the throat.  It always reminds me of the scene in Bridehead Revisited when Anthony Blanche drinks 4 Alexanders is quick succession to the outrage of the Oxford matrons doing lunch.

It needs really good shaking to mix in the cream, egg yolk and dissolve the sugar.

Recipe

Add equal measures of Brandy, Crème de Cacao and cream to a shaker. Add 1 egg yolk and a tablespoon of caster sugar. Shake very well to mix everything together and strain into cocktail glass. Sprinkle with grated nutmeg and enjoy!

Cocktail No 23 Chocolate Soldier

Considering this only contains 2 teaspoons of Crème de Cacao, the chocolate taste is surprisingly noticeable.

Its very refreshing, partly because the blending ensures its more chilled than a shaker or mixing glass delivers, but there is more to it. The immediate taste is chocolate, followed by the crispness of the Dry Vermouth, then Brandy flavoured Chocolate replaces this to fill the mouth. You have that feeling of a film around your teeth and the Chocolate continues to repeat.

That is a very pleasant surprise and so completely different to what I imagined it was going to taste like. I think I shall try this again.

Recipe

Add 2 Ice cubes, 1 measure of brandy and 3/4 measure of Dry Vermouth to an electric blender. Add 2 teaspoons of Crème de Cacao and a dash of Orange Bitters. Blend and pour into a shallow goblet (which I don't have so its in a tumbler instead.