Alexander

From Chanticleer Society
  • Spirit
  • Crème de Cacao
  • Cream

Originally appearing as a gin drink, it would eventually evolve into the "Brandy Alexander", with the gin variation all be disappearing. Using other spirits beyond gin and brandy never seems to have become a thing, so the "Alexander" may not technically be considered as its own category of mixed drink.

The cocktail, according to historian Barry Popik, was likely born at Rector’s (1899-1919), New York’s premier pre-Prohibition lobster palace. The bartender there, a certain Troy Alexander, is said to have created his eponymous concoction in order to serve a white drink at a dinner celebrating [fictional character] Phoebe Snow[1]. Phoebe Snow was created to promote the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad around 1900. Train travel in the day was dirty business, with travelers being covered in soot after a trip of any significant length. Lackawanna was able to prevent this by using anthracite, a cleaner-burning form of coal. They promoted this through advertising where their fictional character Phoebe Snow was always wearing a clean white dress. [2]

The earliest known recipe is from Hugo Ensslin’s 1916 Recipes for Mixed Drinks [3].

ALEXANDER COCKTAIL

1/3 El Bart Gin
1/3 Creme de Cocoa
1/3 Sweet Cream

Shake well in a mixing glass with cracked ice, strain and serve.

An earlier form of a drink by the same name appears in “Jack’s Manual” (1910)[4]

ALEXANDER COCKTAIL
(Use bar glass.)
75% rye whiskey
25% Benedictine
1 piece of ice
Twist of orange peel.
    Stir and serve.

References

  1. Behind the Drink: Brandy Alexander, by Gary Regan (Liquor.com)
  2. Phoebe Snow (Wikipedia)
  3. Recipes for Mixed Drinks by Hugo Ensslin (1917, second edition)
  4. Jack's Manual by J. A. Grohusko (1910)