Brandy Alexander

The Brandy Alexander, once known as the Alexander No. 2, has roots that date more than a century. It’s a classic example of a bartender riff of another drink of the era, the Alexander. 

While the Brandy Alexander consists of brandy, crème de cacao, and heavy cream, the original Alexander calls for gin, crème de cacao, cream, and egg white. Over the hundred-plus years since the pair began to appear on menus and in cocktail books, the brandy variation won out and stood the test of time.

The Brandy Alexander’s popularity ebbed and flowed throughout the decades. It experienced a resurgence in the 1970s, before it fell back into the heap of ignored “retro” cocktails in the following years. Recently, it’s again gained traction as interest in pre-Prohibition cocktails remains high.

It’s hard to pin down the origins of the drink, though the original Alexander has appeared in cocktail books as far back as 1915. Some, like historian and etymologist Barry Popik, credit it to Troy Alexander, a bartender at in New York City’s Hotel Rector around the turn of the 20th century. 

Popik’s primary source is a 1929 story by New York newspaper columnist Walter Winchell that reported on a dinner at Rector’s themed around the fictional character of Phoebe Snow. Depicted as a New York socialite, Snow’s character was the center of an advertising campaign that promoted the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. 

In the campaign, Snow’s white dress was described as untarnished by the company’s cleaner-burning, coal-powered trains. The cream-based Alexander cocktail could have been created for the dinner to complement this theme.

What makes the Brandy Alexander work

The Brandy Alexander is often described as a boozy milkshake. The same principles of food science that apply to many desserts — a balance of sugar, fat, and air — are at play here. Crème de cacao, a chocolate liqueur (which, despite its name, is usually clear), provides the sugar, while cream brings the fat. A shake of the cocktail provides aeration in the form of miniscule bubbles that support and lighten the drink. A healthy pour of brandy brings it all together.

Essentially, a Brandy Alexander is drinkable whipped cream, one whipped lightly enough to remain liquid. Though many early recipes have it as an equal parts cocktail, a slightly heavier pour of alcohol will tamp down on the sweetness and provide enough heat to keep the drink in balance.