Cyprus, 1930s.
| 2 oz · 60 ml | BRANDY | 40 % |
| ¾ oz · 22 ml | LEMON JUICE | |
| ½ oz · 15 ml | SIMPLE SYRUP | |
| 1 splash | EGG WHITE |
1 oz taken as 30 ml in the metric column.
1 oz taken as 30 ml in the metric column.
| Pre-batch | 3.5 oz mixed with ice, 0.8 oz of it pure alcohol |
|---|---|
| Melt | Shaken: +20 % of the pre-batch, +0.7 oz of water |
| Served | 3.5 + 0.7 = 4.2 oz in the glass |
| Strength | 0.8 ÷ 4.2 = 19.0 % ABV as served |
| Ethanol | 0.8 oz × 29.57 ml × 0.789 g/ml = 19 g · about 131 kcal from the alcohol alone |
FROM BRANDY · from oak barrel aging
Bourbon's fingerprint, extracted from the charred American oak the law requires for aging. Same molecule as the vanilla bean's signature, so a well-aged bourbon legitimately tastes like vanilla. Chemistry, not metaphor. Cognac, aged rum, tequila reposado all extract vanillin from oak too. Different barrels, same molecule.
ALSO IN Old Fashioned · Manhattan · Whiskey Sour · Paper Plane · Boulevardier · Sazerac · Espresso Martini · Mai Tai
FROM LEMON · the lemon aroma
Lemon's defining note: technically a mix of two geometric isomers (geranial and neral) that read as the same aroma to the nose. Lemon peel, lemongrass, lemon verbena, and Indian chai all carry it. In cocktails it's what a lemon twist contributes that lemon juice can't: the volatile expressed from the oil glands, not the acid from the pulp.
ALSO IN Margarita · Mojito · Daiquiri · Whiskey Sour · Gimlet · Moscow Mule · Paper Plane · Aviation
Brandy, lemon, sugar and egg white. This is the classic egg-white Brandy Sour; Cyprus's national Brandy Sour is a longer build with bitters and soda and no egg. Egg white stabilizes the foam cap that carries the brandy's vanillin on the nose.
Cyprus's national cocktail, credited to the Forest Park Hotel in Platres in the 1930s; the story says it was made for King Farouk of Egypt, who as a Muslim couldn't be seen drinking alcohol in public, though Farouk is reported not to have drunk at all. The bartender disguised brandy as iced tea via the lemon-and-bitters coloring. The Cypriot build is long: brandy, lemon squash, bitters and soda over ice, no egg white. Cyprus's tourism industry adopted the Brandy Sour as a national symbol; it's now ubiquitous at every Cypriot hotel bar.
