The brandy sour is a mixed
alcoholic cocktail
A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink. Most commonly, cocktails are either a combination of spirits, or one or more spirits mixed with other ingredients such as tonic water, fruit juice, flavored syrup, or cream. Cocktails vary widely across ...
considered the unofficial national cocktail of
Cyprus. While other forms of the brandy sour cocktail exist, the Cypriot variety is a distinct mixture, which only shares the basic
brandy
Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured with ...
and
lemon flavourings with other variants. Both brandy and lemons are among Cyprus's major exports, and both have distinctive Cypriot characteristics.
History
The Cypriot brandy sour style was developed following the introduction of the first blended brandy made on Cyprus, by the Haggipavlu family, in the early 1930s. The cocktail was developed at the Forest Park Hotel, in the hill-resort of
Plátres, for the young King
Farouk of Egypt, who often stayed at the hotel during his frequent visits to the island. The brandy sour was introduced as an alcoholic substitute for
iced tea, as a way of disguising the
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
monarch's preference for Western-style cocktails. The drink subsequently spread to other bars and hotels in the fashionable Platres area, before making its way to the coastal resorts of
Limassol,
Paphos and
Kyrenia, and the capital
Nicosia
Nicosia ( ; el, Λευκωσία, Lefkosía ; tr, Lefkoşa ; hy, Նիկոսիա, romanized: ''Nikosia''; Cypriot Arabic: Nikusiya) is the largest city, capital, and seat of government of Cyprus. It is located near the centre of the Mesaor ...
.
Recipe and ingredients
A typical recipe for a Cypriot brandy sour includes:
*5 cl (2 parts)
Cypriot brandy (typically ''
KEO Keo may refer to:
* Keo, another name for the Thổ people
* The KEO satellite
* KEO (beer), a brand of beer brewed in Cyprus
* KEO (company), the largest beverage company in Cyprus
* Keo, Estonia, a village in Estonia
* Keo, Arkansas, a town i ...
VSOP'' or ''Haggipavlu Anglias'' brands)
*2.5 cl (1 part) Cypriot
lemon squash
Squash (sometimes known as cordial in British English, dilute in Hiberno English, and diluting juice in Scottish English) is a non-alcoholic beverage with concentrated syrup used in beverage making. It is usually fruit-flavoured, made from frui ...
*2–4 drops of
bitters (''
Angostura
Angostura may refer to:
Places
Mexico
* Angostura, Sinaloa, a city in north-west Mexico
** Angostura Municipality, Sinaloa, a municipality in Sinaloa, Mexico
* Puerto de la Angostura, Coahuila, site of the 1847 Battle of Buena Vista between Ame ...
'' or Cypriot ''Cock Drops'' brands)
*Top up with
soda water (some use
lemonade instead)
*Ice
Cocktail brandy produced in Cyprus is typically less strongly flavoured than
cognac or
armagnac, and most brands have a
caramel
Caramel ( or ) is an orange-brown confectionery product made by heating a range of sugars. It can be used as a flavoring in puddings and desserts, as a filling in bonbons, or as a topping for ice cream and custard.
The process of caramelizatio ...
-biased aftertaste balance. Cyprus also produces distinctive, yellow-green coloured, bitter lemons — used by British author
Lawrence Durrell for the title for his autobiographical novel ''
Bitter Lemons of Cyprus''. These lemons are used locally to produce a bitter-sweet lemon cordial, which forms the sour and bitter base for the brandy sour cocktail. Bitters are added to taste, and while the locally produced ''Cock Drops'' brand is widely available on the island, the internationally recognised ''Angostura'' brand is increasingly used. These ingredients are added to a tall glass and stirred, before the glass is topped up with lemonade (for a classic, slightly sweeter drink) or soda water (for less sweetness and a more pronounced brandy flavour), and plenty of ice. It is quite common to decorate the Brandy Sour cocktail with sugar on the rim of the highball glass and a Maraschino cherry.
See also
*
Brandy daisy
The brandy daisy is a cocktail which first gained popularity in the late 19th century. One of the earliest known recipes was published in 1876 in the second edition of Jerry Thomas's ''The Bartenders Guide or How To Mix Drinks: The Bon-Vivants ...
*
Sour (cocktail)
References
{{Cocktails
Cocktails with brandy
Cypriot cuisine
Cocktails with bitters
Sour cocktails