Alexander
Velvety, rich, dessert-like.
Cognac, crème de cacao and cream in equal parts, shaken into a soft, silky drink. A dusting of nutmeg lifts the aroma and makes it a classic way to end a meal.
- IBA · The Unforgettables
- After dinner
- Shaken
- Glass
- Cocktail glass
- Method
- Shaken
- Strength
- Medium
- Time
- 3 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Ice
- No ice
Ingredients
Measures for 1 serving
-
Cognac
30 ml
-
Dark crème de cacao
30 ml
-
Cream
30 ml
Garnish
- Grated nutmeg
Proportions
How to make
- Chill a cocktail glass.
- Fill a shaker with ice.
- Pour the cognac.
- Pour the dark crème de cacao.
- Pour the fresh cream.
- Shake hard.
- Strain into the chilled glass.
- Dust with freshly grated nutmeg.
The story
Origins
DocumentedOrigin attested by written sources of the time.
The first printed Alexander recipe appears in Hugo Ensslin's Recipes for Mixed Drinks, published in New York in 1916, calling for equal parts gin, crème de cacao and cream. The origin of the name rests only on hypotheses: one version credits Troy Alexander, bartender at Rector's restaurant in New York, who supposedly created it for a dinner linked to the Phoebe Snow advertising campaign, a white-clad character invented for a railroad. The brandy version appears alongside the gin one in Harry Craddock's Savoy Cocktail Book of 1930 and gradually took over in the following decades. Today the IBA codifies the recipe with cognac.
Taste profile
- Creamy
- 5 out of 5
- Sweet
- 4 out of 5
- Strong
- 2 out of 5
- Spicy
- 1 out of 5
