Category: brandy

rye

The Bride Wore Red Cocktail| A Whiskey and Wine Cocktail Made with a Cranberry Red Wine Reduction Syrup

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The Bride Wore Red cocktail is an amazing whiskey and wine drink made with a cranberry red wine reduction syrup. It's spicy and sweet with amazing complexity and warmth. It's quite possibly the best cocktail for the colder months ahead.

The Bride Wore Red cocktail is an amazing whiskey and wine drink made with a cranberry red wine reduction syrup. It’s spicy and sweet with amazing complexity and warmth. It’s quite possibly the best cocktail for the colder months ahead.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. If you buy a product via my affiliate link, I will receive a commission. This is at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I actually like!

One of the best things about colder weather is the rich meals and drinks. The recipe for The Bride Wore Red feels like a combination of both. Warm, spicy rye whiskey + rich red wine + tart cranberry sauce + warm spices… is your mouth watering yet? This drink does require a little more effort, especially in comparison to the rest of my super easy beginner-level cocktails, but it is well worth the extra work. Plus you’ll be able to use up that cranberry sauce that always seems to linger longer than the rest of the Thanksgiving and Christmas leftovers.

To learn how to make the cranberry red wine reduction syrup (the star of this cocktail recipe IMO), you can check out the recipe post here. The great thing about it is that you change up the spices, too. Love the taste of star anise? Add some. Hate cardamom? Leave it out.

My inspiration for The Bride Wore Red cocktail was a bit of a journey. The first recipe that came to mind when I got a new bottle (actually, my first-ever bottle) of rye was to make the New York Sour again. The last time I made it, I used corn whiskey and I didn’t like it. I figured I should give that classic cocktail a fair shot.

But then I looked up some other classic rye cocktails and the Vieux CarrĂ© and the Saratoga caught my eye. The Bride Wore Red cocktail was inspired by those and the New York Sour. I may be biased, but it turned out dang good. I’ll admit I had to play with the ratios a bit because that cranberry red wine reduction syrup is sweet. But as is the case with every cocktail recipe, feel free to adjust the ratios to your own liking, too.

Speaking of adjusting the recipe, you can use your favorite whiskey instead of rye if you want. I do think the spiciness of the rye balances out the sweetness of the cranberry red wine reduction syrup. But I think it will work well with bourbon or Irish whiskey, too.

The Bride Wore Red cocktail is an amazing whiskey and wine drink made with a cranberry red wine reduction syrup. It's spicy and sweet with amazing complexity and warmth. It's quite possibly the best cocktail for the colder months ahead.

The rye that I used is called the Dorothy Arzner Straight Rye Whiskey. Dorothy Arzner was the first woman to direct a sound film and she was also the first woman to join the Directors Guild of America. She directed many famous films such as The Bride Wore Red, Merrily We Go to Hell, Christopher Strong, and Dance, Girl Dance. It seemed only fitting to name this cocktail after one of her movies.

Do you have any other favorite cold-weather cocktails? Let me know in a comment– I’m always down for trying out new cocktail recipes. And if you make The Bride Wore Red, please please please tag me on Instagram!

The Bride Wore Red cocktail is an amazing whiskey and wine drink made with a cranberry red wine reduction syrup. It's spicy and sweet with amazing complexity and warmth. It's quite possibly the best cocktail for the colder months ahead.

Ingredients for The Bride Wore Red – A Whiskey and Wine Cocktail

  • 1 1/2 oz rye whiskey
  • 3/4 oz brandy
  • 1/3 oz cranberry red wine reduction syrup (find the recipe here)
  • 1 dash cardamom bitters
  • 1 dash orange bitters
  • dehydrated orange slice, to garnish

How to Make a The Bride Wore Red Cocktail

Add all ingredients, except for the orange slice, to a cocktail glass with a large ice cube. Stir using a bar spoon. Place a fresh large ice cube into a lowball glass. Strain the cocktail into the glass. Garnish with a dehydrated orange slice.

The Bride Wore Red

The Bride Wore Red cocktail is an amazing whiskey and wine cocktail made with a cranberry red wine reduction syrup. It's spicy and sweet with amazing complexity and warmth. It's quite possibly the best cocktail for the colder months ahead.
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Prep Time 3 mins
Course Drinks
Servings 1

Equipment

  • cocktail glass
  • bar spoon

Ingredients
  

  • 1½ oz rye whiskey
  • ¾ oz brandy
  • â…“ oz cranberry red wine reduction syrup*
  • 1 dash cardamom bitters
  • 1 dash orange bitters

Instructions
 

  • Add all ingredients, except for the orange slice, to a cocktail glass with a large ice cube.
  • Stir using a bar spoon.
  • Place a fresh large ice cube into a lowball glass.
  • Strain the cocktail into the glass.
  • Garnish with a dehydrated orange slice.

Notes

*You can find the recipe for the cranberry red wine reduction syrup here. It’s a great way to use leftover cranberry sauce.
Keyword apple brandy, cardamom bitters, cranberry red wine reduction for cocktails, cranberry red wine reduction syrup, cranberry sauce, orange bitters, rye, rye whiskey, whiskey, whiskey and wine cocktail

If you love the idea of a whiskey and wine cocktail, check out the Gin & Cabernet Sour. It’s one of my all-time favorites.

The Bride Wore Red cocktail is an amazing whiskey and wine drink made with a cranberry red wine reduction syrup. It's spicy and sweet with amazing complexity and warmth. It's quite possibly the best cocktail for the colder months ahead.
brandy

Japanese Cocktail | A Classic Cocktail That’s Been Around For 160 Years

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Learn how to make a Japanese Cocktail- the famous 3-ingredient classic cocktail that has been around since the 1800s. It's made with cognac, orgeat, and bitters.

The Japanese Cocktail is a famous classic that has been around since the 1800s. The original recipe, written down in Jerry Thomas’ book How To Mix Drinks in 1862, lists cognac, orgeat, and bitters as the 3 ingredients. Later renditions have added lime juice or water but there’s a reason the original recipe has stood the test of time.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. If you buy a product via my affiliate link, I will receive a commission. This is at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I actually like!

Despite being named the Japanese Cocktail, this drink’s ingredients lean more French than anything else. Thomas, the original creator of the Japanese Cocktail, was supposedly inspired by the first Japanese delegation to the United States who were staying at a hotel near his bar in 1860.

Known as one of the original kings of cocktails, Jerry Thomas enjoyed playing with ingredients behind the bar. The Japanese Cocktail is Thomas’ riff on an Old Fashioned. The cognac* used in place of whiskey adds a fruity flavor, while the orgeat lends a nutty, fuller mouthfeel than the traditional sugar cube. Both recipes include bitters, a small but powerful ingredient that has an uncanny ability to blend flavors seamlessly. The end result is a simple yet indulgent libation.

Learn how to make a Japanese Cocktail- the famous 3-ingredient classic cocktail that has been around since the 1800s. It's made with cognac, orgeat, and bitters.

You might be able to tell that I used homemade orgeat in this recipe because the color of my cocktail is a lot more opaque than it typically is. You definitely don’t have to make your own, though. Small Hands makes a great orgeat and thanks to Amazon, you can have it at your doorstep in a couple days. If you do want to try making it yourself, the recipe post I linked to has a from-scratch version and a cheater’s version.

Thomas originally served his Japanese Cocktail in a lowball glass with an ice cube to help his drink further resemble an Old Fashioned. These days, it’s customary to serve it “up” in a coupe glass.

Learn how to make a Japanese Cocktail- the famous 3-ingredient classic cocktail that has been around since the 1800s. It's made with cognac, orgeat, and bitters.

If you want to know how to make a Japanese Cocktail the traditional way, you can see the original recipe down below. As I mentioned earlier, there are a few different renditions that have surfaced in recent years. You can add 1/2 ounce of chilled water to drink to dilute it a bit (since it’s pretty strong) or you can add 1/2 ounce of lime juice to the drink to brighten it up. I’ve yet to try it with lime juice or water but I plan on doing so soon since I need to use up my orgeat pretty soon. Let me know how you end up making this one.

*Quick note about cognac: I’ve discussed in another brandy cocktail post that cognac and brandy are one and the same. Similar to France’s claim on the word “chardonnay”, cognac can only be called cognac if it hails from the Cognac region of France. Otherwise, it’s brandy.

Learn how to make a Japanese Cocktail- the famous 3-ingredient classic cocktail that has been around since the 1800s. It's made with cognac, orgeat, and bitters.

Ingredients for a Japanese Cocktail

How To Make A Japanese Cocktail

Add all three ingredients to a cocktail shaker or cocktail glass filled with ice. Stir to incorporate the ingredients and to chill the ingredients (cocktail recipes without citrus are never shaken). Strain into a coupe glass. Express the lemon peel over the top of the glass before and placing it in the glass.

Japanese Cocktail

The Japanese Cocktail is a 3-ingredient classic cocktail that's been around since the 1800s.
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Prep Time 2 mins
Course Drinks
Servings 1

Ingredients
  

  • 2 oz cognac or brandy
  • ½ oz orgeat*
  • 2 dashes Angostura bitters
  • 1 lemon peel, to garnish

Instructions
 

  • Add all three ingredients to a cocktail shaker or cocktail glass filled with ice.
  • Stir to incorporate the ingredients and to chill the ingredients (cocktail recipes without citrus are never shaken).
  • Strain into a coupe glass.
  • Express the lemon peel over the top of the glass before placing it into the glass.

Notes

*Here are two recipes for homemade orgeat or you can buy some on Amazon here.
Keyword angostura bitters, brandy, orgeat

Looking for another recipe to use orgeat in? Check out the Mai Tai. The Mai Tai is perhaps the most iconic cocktail that uses orgeat as an ingredient.

applejack

Jack Rose | The Forgotten Classic Cocktail with 3 Ingredients

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The Jack Rose is a classic American cocktail made with applejack (apple brandy), lemon juice, and grenadine. It's a little tart, a little sweet, and very American. Make one and discover why so many American presidents and icons have loved a good applejack-based cocktail over the years.

The Jack Rose is a classic American cocktail made with applejack (apple brandy), fresh lemon juice, and grenadine. It’s tart, sweet, and ridiculously easy to make. Make one and you’ll find out why the Jack Rose cocktail was a favorite among the likes of Ernest Hemingway, Humphrey Bogard, and John Steinbeck.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. If you buy a product via my affiliate link, I will receive a commission. This is at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I actually like! 

One day a while back, a friend called me to see if I wanted to raid her pantry before she moved out of state. Living in a military town means you have to say goodbye to a lot of friends but it also means raiding a lot of pantries. When I got there, she had already set aside a pile of things she figured I’d be interested in. In the heap was a nearly-full bottle of triple sec (score!) and a nearly-empty bottle of apple brandy.

I knew the triple sec would come in handy (hello Margaritas & Sidecars!) but I wasn’t quite sure what I’d use the apple brandy for. But seeing as I’m not one to pass up free booze, I snagged it.

It’s sat in my liquor cabinet for months now because aside from using it in place of regular brandy in a recipe, I was at a loss as to how to use it.

Then it hit me. Isn’t apple brandy the same thing as applejack? Or at least… similar? I’d had applejack in an awesome cocktail I’d ordered at a bar in Houston called Mongoose Vs Cobra. It was one of those cocktails that you think about for years. I remembered it having applejack. Ah, what was it called? Something about the Titanic??? Jack? Apple Jacks? The name was on the tip of my tongue. A quick Google search solved the mystery. A Jack Rose.

The Jack Rose is a classic American cocktail made with applejack (apple brandy), lemon juice, and grenadine. It's a little tart, a little sweet, and very American. Make one and discover why so many American presidents and icons have loved a good applejack-based cocktail over the years.

Ah, Jack Rose. I felt a little better about the Titanic connection. Turns out a Jack Rose is a classic American cocktail. And it’s made with applejack, as I remembered. But could I use my new (old) apple brandy instead?

According to an article by Chowhound and Lisa Laird Dunn, Vice President of Laird & Company (America’s oldest and biggest apple brandy company), the terms “apple brandy” and “applejack” can legally be used interchangeably in the United States.

The term “applejack” came from how the spirit was originally distilled centuries back. “Jacking” was a term used to describe the process of freeze distilling fermented cider. When the ice is removed, it causes a higher concentration of both alcohol and flavor. Few companies use freeze distillation today to produce applejack or apple brandy but you can read this article to see how to do it yourself at home.

The Jack Rose is a classic American cocktail made with applejack (apple brandy), lemon juice, and grenadine. It's a little tart, a little sweet, and very American. Make one and discover why so many American presidents and icons have loved a good applejack-based cocktail over the years.

With a good supply of apples and cold temperatures, you can see why applejack became a popular spirit for early Americans in the north. In fact, applejack was George Washington’s spirit of choice. Supposedly he is the only person outside of the Laird family to have ever been given their famous applejack recipe. But Washington’s not the only American president with an affinity for the American spirit. Abraham Lincoln sold applejack at his bar (yep, he’s the only president who was also a licensed bartender) and Franklin Roosevelt preferred to make his Manhattans with it. Don’t you wanna go out and buy a bottle now?

Once you go outside of the US, though, apple brandy terminology gets a little more technical. Calvados, a famous style of apple brandy, hails from Normandy. For an apple brandy to be considered Calvados, it has to be from the Calvados region of Normandy and must be aged. Applejack and American brandy don’t have to be aged.

The Chowhound article goes waaay more in-depth about the differences between American applejack/apple brandy and Calvados. It’s an interesting read but incase you don’t feel like spending 8 minutes reading about the differences, just know that if you’re in America, it’s pretty safe to assume that applejack = apple brandy.

Let me know if you make the Jack Rose in a comment, by posting it in the Girl & Tonic Facebook page, or tagging me on Instagram.

The Jack Rose is a classic American cocktail made with applejack (apple brandy), lemon juice, and grenadine. It's a little tart, a little sweet, and very American. Make one and discover why so many American presidents and icons have loved a good applejack-based cocktail over the years.

Ingredients for a Jack Rose Cocktail

  • 1 1/2 to 2 oz apple brandy (also called applejack)
  • 3/4 oz freshly-squeezed lemon juice
  • 1/2 oz grenadine (I prefer to use a high quality one with no artificial colors or ingredients)

How to Make a Jack Rose Cocktail

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well. Strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with a lemon twist. Sip and feel like a classy American.

Jack Rose Cocktail

The Jack Rose is a classic America cocktail made with applejack (apple brandy), lemon juice, and grenadine. It's a little tart, a little sweet, and very American. Make one and discover why so many American presidents and icons love a good applejack-based cocktail.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 3 mins
Course Drinks
Servings 1

Equipment

  • cocktail shaker

Ingredients
  

  • 1½-2 oz apple brandy*
  • ¾ oz lemon juice, freshly squeezed
  • ½ oz grenadine

Instructions
 

  • Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
  • Shake well, about 20 seconds.
  • Strain into a coupe glass.
  • Garnish with a lemon twist.

Notes

*Apple brandy and applejack can be used interchangeably in the US. Read my blog post for more information about these two terms.
Keyword apple brandy, applejack, grenadine, lemon juice

Sidecar | A Classic Cocktail
brandy

Sidecar | A 3-Ingredient Classic Cocktail

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The Sidecar is a classic prohibition-era cocktail made with only 3 simple ingredients: brandy, orange liqueur, and lemon juice.

The Sidecar is another classic cocktail with only 3 ingredients. As many classic drinks do, it’s got itself a muddled history. Some claim it was invented in Paris during World War I, while others say it was first created in London. No matter who created it or where, it’s arguably the most well-known and well-loved brandy cocktail.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. If you buy a product via my affiliate link, I will receive a commission. This is at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I actually like! 

It was originally served with a sugared rim but is rarely served that way today. So, if you like your drinks a little more sweet, consider tracing the rim of your coupe glass and dipping it into some sugar before making your drink. Personally, I skip the sugar as the Sidecar is my go-to drink when I’m looking for something tart.

The Sidecar is a classic prohibition-era cocktail made with only 3 simple ingredients: brandy, orange liqueur, and lemon juice.

The first time I ever had a Sidecar was at my friends’ house. They consider themselves cocktail aficionados and they introduced me to this classic when I first started delving into cocktails (as in, I had ordered maybe 2 cocktails prior to this point). I was instantly hooked on the tartness.

My friend told me I could easily make them at home and for a fraction of the cost that a bar would charge. He then proved this by pulling up an Excel spreadsheet that had all the information you could ever think of having. It was honestly impressive. He had created formulas to determine the cost per drink of several, several cocktails. Anytime he bought a new bottle of liquor, he would insert the cost & volume of the bottle so that all the numbers stayed accurate. I mean. Impressive. I guess that’s what happens when you combine an engineer and a cocktail enthusiast.

The Sidecar is a classic prohibition-era cocktail made with only 3 simple ingredients: brandy, orange liqueur, and lemon juice.

Truthfully, those friends and that spreadsheet were the catalysts for my drink-making journey. I might not have realized how cost-effective it is to invest in a home bar if it weren’t for them. So cheers to you, Brian & Catherine. Thanks for the Sidecar all those years ago.

The Sidecar is a classic prohibition-era cocktail made with only 3 simple ingredients: brandy, orange liqueur, and lemon juice.

The Ingredients

*These ratios are also disputed, but here is how I make one*

  • 1 1/2 oz brandy**
  • 3/4 oz orange liqueur
  • 3/4 oz lemon juice (freshly-squeezed, mind you! when you only have 3 ingredients in a cocktail, skimping on the fresh lemon juice will cost you)

The How-To

Fill your cocktail shaker with ice and add all ingredients. Shake shake shake. Pour into a coupe glass. Garnish with a large swath of lemon peel. (Twisting or squeezing the peel over your drink will release some delicious oils and take everything up a notch.)

**A quick note about brandy and cognac: Cognac is brandy, but not all brandy is cognac. Brandy can only be called Cognac if it comes from the Cognac region in France. So, Cognac : brandy :: Champagne : sparkling wine. (anyone else a fan of analogies?)

The Sidecar is a classic prohibition-era cocktail made with only 3 simple ingredients: brandy, orange liqueur, and lemon juice.

Looking for other 3-ingredient cocktails? Check out the Daiquiri, the Moscow Mule, and the Dark & Stormy.

Diamond