Help / Opinion: Brandy as a Mixer

Okay, I did the search and found nothing to answer my question regarding brandy.

MANY drinks (Tiki included!) call for “Brandy” without specifying what type of brandy. Brandy is a distillate of fruit, but I’m sure the drink recipe isn’t calling for apple brandy (Calvados or applejack) or peach brandy when “they” say brandy.
So, what do you, the alcoho… err… drink connoisseur use? A Cognac V.S. since it’s being mixed? Or possibly an Armagnac?
I’m thinking, since its being mixed, you don’t want to go with a V.S.O.P. Cognac because that would be like pouring cranberry juice into your Grey Goose.

So! What do you use?

Also, PLEASE give me your opinion on the best liqueurs for mixing: (assuming you can't find Marie Brizzard) Bols, Hiram Walker, LeRoux, Boulaine or DeKuyper?
(Does Marie Brizzard even have other liquers beyond anisette and peach “brandy”?)

Thank you for “scrolling by” but most importantly thank you for your knowledge, Rich

"The only time I ever said no to a drink was when I misunderstood the question."

Will Sinclair

(Much needed comma)

[ Edited by: JerseyRED on 2005-01-20 00:36 ]

True brandy is mainly made from grapes, so when a recipe calls for brandy, don't use apricot brandy or anything else along those fruity lines as they are really a different thing altogether.

Brandy is a drink that, like rum, is cheap to make and costs next to nothing in the countries where it's made. I picked up bottles in Spain - 'Toro' & '103', both by Osborne' and a bottle in Italy - 'Vecchia Romagna' and they cost between $6 & $8 a bottle. Fine for both sipping and using in cocktails. Spain, France, Greece, Italy are all known for making decent brandy, and it really doesn't have to be expensive. I'm not sure how easily these are available in the US, but you shouldn't have to use top notch cognac to put in your cocktails.

Trader Woody

Sidecar -- best brandy drink, ever. IMHO.

i use a spanish brandy called fundador solera reserve. it has a great flavor and i think i paid something like 15-20 bucks. a bottle of brandy goes a long way when mixing tropical drinks so spend a little cash and get a good bottle. unless you really take a liking to the brandy drinks it will last you a while.

remember the drinks you mix are only as good as the booze you put into them.

I have to agree with SS on this one. The making of a Brandy sidecar, is a lost art. I often gets strange looks, stranger than normal, when ordering one. A well made sidecar is sublime.

Marie Brizard makes a lot of different cremes, liquors...
I use this brand for curacao (orange and blue), creme de banana, triple sec...
They even have some syrup, and non-alcoholic mixes.

vive la France, the sidecar is a parisian cocktail (made up at Harry's).
And yes, Brandy doesn't have to be expensive, I use cheap one that is very nice with cocktails.

On 2005-01-20 14:46, the drunken hat wrote:
i use a spanish brandy called fundador solera reserve. it has a great flavor and i think i paid something like 15-20 bucks. a bottle of brandy goes a long way when mixing tropical drinks so spend a little cash and get a good bottle.

Just to clarify, I was pointing out that these brandies cost next to nothing in their countries of origin - I wasn't promoting buying the cheapest you can find. The one you mentioned costs about $7 in Spain, but triple that in the UK. France has a lot of really good brandies that cost next to nothing over there, but are very expensive in the UK.
I'd just advise people not to splash out on VSOP/XO fine brandies when their taste is going to get overpowered by the rest of the ingredients.

I understand there's a Mexican brand called Presidente that might be good for mixing & affordable. Anyone tried it?

Trader Woody

On 2005-01-20 15:30, Trader Woody wrote:

On 2005-01-20 14:46, the drunken hat wrote:
i use a spanish brandy called fundador solera reserve. it has a great flavor and i think i paid something like 15-20 bucks. a bottle of brandy goes a long way when mixing tropical drinks so spend a little cash and get a good bottle.

Just to clarify, I was pointing out that these brandies cost next to nothing in their countries of origin - I wasn't promoting buying the cheapest you can find. The one you mentioned costs about $7 in Spain, but triple that in the UK. France has a lot of really good brandies that cost next to nothing over there, but are very expensive in the UK.
I'd just advise people not to splash out on VSOP/XO fine brandies when their taste is going to get overpowered by the rest of the ingredients.

I understand there's a Mexican brand called Presidente that might be good for mixing & affordable. Anyone tried it?

Trader Woody

woody~ no sweat bruddah. i wasn't jabbin at you. as a matter of fact i couldn't agree with you more. mixing a vsop in a cocktail would be a sin!

my point was that here in the U S we have E&J or christian brothers in that price range. these are CRAP not worthy of the bottle let alone tainting a cocktail with!

presidente is good brandy and is in the $10-$15 range around here i think. i have had it and it is way better than the low cost stuff made stateside.

From Cocktail DB:

Sidecar

Shake in iced cocktail shaker & strain
1 1/2 oz brandy
1/2 oz triple sec
1/2 oz fresh lemon juice

Serve in a cocktail glass (4.5 oz)

What Cocktail DB forgot to mention was that the (properly chilled) cocktail glass should have the freshly-cut lemon run around the rim, then upend the cocktail glass into a pile of sugar, thus coating the rim.

Also -- try substituting Triple Sec with Cointreau. And don't make it quite a 1/2 ounce. Also hold back a squosh on the lemon juice.

This is really one of the great cocktails, and although America is the home of cocktails Virani is absolutely right in pointing out that the Sidecar was invented in Paris (where I believe to this day bars that serve cocktails are referred to as "American" bars -- in fact, I was recently in Brussels and when I asked for a cocktail in an upscale restaurant that had every liquor imaginable they had no idea what I was talking about, honest; although thanks to the Belgians I have now developed a strange fondess for Campari).

[ Edited by: Satan's Sin on 2005-01-20 17:14 ]

On 2005-01-20 17:12, Satan's Sin wrote:
This is really one of the great cocktails, and although America is the home of cocktails Virani is absolutely right in pointing out that the Sidecar was invented in Paris (where I believe to this day bars that serve cocktails are referred to as "American" bars -- in fact, I was recently in Brussels and when I asked for a cocktail in an upscale restaurant that had every liquor imaginable they had no idea what I was talking about, honest; although thanks to the Belgians I have now developed a strange fondess for Campari).

Huh, I didn't know that the cocktail was considered an American phenomenon. I was aware that the popularity of spirits soared in the US during prohibition since transporting and selling a high proof product meant more profit for the risk.

So how they typically use all that fine booze? Just drink it straight, on ice or with a single mixer?

Kono --

Hold your head high if you're an American, for the cocktail is indeed an American invention.

The non-recipe books I've read about cocktails (and there are many, but may I recommend William Grimes's "Straight Up or On the Rocks, The Story of the American Cocktail") claim it was invented as early as the 1700s, and primarily to mask the horrid taste of home-brewed whisky and gin.

Cocktails soared in popularity during Prohibition precisely because of "bathtub" (homemade) gin, which, unless mixed with something sweet, was truly throat-gagging.

Booze has a history, and it is extremely fascinating. The origins of the word "cocktail" is itself lost to history, although there are many -- mostly funny -- explanations of how it was coined. Famous drinks also have a history. Did you know that the Martini -- invented in the 1860s -- was half gin and half vermouth? With a big dash of sugar syrup? Did you know that there was a fabulous 1880s drink called a Blue Blazer -- where the lighted ingredients were poured back and for from two tankards by a highly skilled barman, making for a stream of blue flame? Well, there's all this and more, if you care to explore our Precious Drinking Heritage. One chapter of which, of course, is the great Tiki Period.

It was extremely odd and extremely charming to be in Brussels -- as I mentioned in an earlier post -- and ask for the cocktail menu and be given a completely blank look. They really did not know what cocktails were.

Every Tiki bar should have Brandy for the Scorpion bowl drink.

On 2005-01-21 09:22, Satan's Sin wrote:
It was extremely odd and extremely charming to be in Brussels -- as I mentioned in an earlier post -- and ask for the cocktail menu and be given a completely blank look. They really did not know what cocktails were.

Oh, I can't believe that!!

Places that serve cocktails abound in Europe, but the difficulty is finding places that serve up the old classics rather than inane concotions which people buy for the name rather than the ingredients (Slippery Tasty Bald Beaver, Hairy Coconut etc....)

To be honest, these cheesy places are found mainly on the coast, so if you get to a city like Brussels, (where beer is king for a very good reason) a cocktail bar might be more difficult to find than you'd expect. And yes, some of the classic cocktail bars in Europe that started out in the 20's (Eg. Harry's Bar in Venice and Paris) were set up to cater for Americans.

Trader Woody

Trader --

Honest Injun, swearing by the cool stainless steel of my Penguin-shaped cocktail shaker, I was in one of the most hip (and certainly expensive) restaurants in Brussels, they had every kind of liquor imaginable, but they honest to goodness did not know a Cosmo from a Manhattan or even a Martini. They'd be happy to make it, of course, if I told them how ...

Curiously, business took me down to Geneva. Stayed at a terribly hip hotel, it was like it was designed by that Dieter character on Saturday Night Live, and their bargirl was quite the expert on every imaginable cocktail. They also told me that the Swiss kiss each other three times in greeting, but the French and Spanish only twice, and this I do not believe.

[ Edited by: Satan's Sin on 2005-01-22 07:36 ]

On 2005-01-22 07:35, Satan's Sin wrote:
Trader --
They also told me that the Swiss kiss each other three times in greeting, but the French and Spanish only twice, and this I do not believe.

Ok, you are getting into a much more complicated story. Every regions have their customs. Here, in Paris, you kiss twice, in some french cities you only kiss once (on the right cheek), in other places (on villages mostly) you kiss 4 times, or sometimes 3.
But it could get more difficult : with my grandparents or uncles and aunts it is 4 times, with my parents, cousins, brother 2 times, with a cousin from the north of France it's 3 times, and with my wife only once, but with the tongue :wink:

Amazing! Simply amazing!
Not only did I receive solid information for my question but now know that I might be kissed in a foreign country NUMEROUS times!

Seriously, thanks all for your input!!

Rich

PS Yes, cocktails like jazz are an American creation. And if I may, my personal book recommendation on classic cocktails and history is Ted “Dr. Cocktail” Haigh’s (of cocktaildb.com fame) Vintage Spirits & Forgotten Cocktails. It’s a great read.

1 oz Rum (Barbencourt)
.25 oz triple sec (or Amaretto)
.5 oz cheap-ass apricot brandy
1.25 oz O.J.
splash of cherry syrup (for "not-so-sweet" try cranberry juice)
splash of lime

Stir on the rocks!

Do ya'll mind if I resusitate this ol' thread to ask what brandy would you recommend to have in the home bar as a mixer? Are there any new favorites since this thread first started?
Would you recommend Martell as Ted Haigh does in Vintage Spirits & Forgotten Coctails or do you have a more preferred brand?
As suspected previously, some recommendations that we have seen are not quite liqour store findable in some parts.

Yes, I want to use good quality, but not too top knotch that it would be too much for the mixed drink. Just curious to know what those would be before the purchase.

Thank for your understanding.

[ Edited by: I dream of tiki 2006-04-23 15:59 ]

For what my opinions worth: Hennesy. I'm not big on brandy, but it's what I'd use. Decent, medium price (I think). I haven't bought any in a while. You can sip it or mix it.

On 2005-01-21 09:22, Satan's Sin wrote:
The origins of the word "cocktail" is itself lost to history, although there are many -- mostly funny -- explanations of how it was coined.

On 2005-01-31 13:57, JerseyRED wrote:
And if I may, my personal book recommendation on classic cocktails and history is Ted “Dr. Cocktail” Haigh’s (of cocktaildb.com fame) Vintage Spirits & Forgotten Cocktails. It’s a great read.

From that book: "Cocktails were morning drinks. Nobody knows for sure, but I feel certain that they were named cocktails because they were your wakeup call—like a rooster heralding the early morning light."

As good as anything I guess. There are some weekends where I've used that phrase to advantage.

[ Edited by: foamy 2005-11-24 08:45 ]

Another bump to this thread.

I've run across a few people in the bartending/liquor sales worlds that really like Remy. Has anyone else tried it and how would you rate it as a mixer?

Sorry to get off topic IDOT, but speaking of brandy based tiki drinks...lately I've REALLY been enjoying the Pisco Cocktail from the Trader Vic Tiki Party book. Outstanding little drink and very simple to make. :D

On 2006-04-23 16:02, I dream of tiki wrote:
Another bump to this thread.

I've run across a few people in the bartending/liquor sales worlds that really like Remy. Has anyone else tried it and how would you rate it as a mixer?

I've been lurking here a while now. Long before I was interested in anything tiki I drank mostly single malt scotch or cognac neat. Remy XO happens to be my favorite congac, but waaaay to nice to mix with anything. I've liked all the other Remys I've had however. I've been using lowly Christian Bros in my Scorpions and it seems just fine. Maybe I'll mix one up with Remy XO and see if it's any better. Hennesy VS is also pretty solid for the money and would probably mix nicely. I now promise to go over to the new members thread and introduce myself.