In the beginning (in the early to mid 1800s) cocktails were a simple bar drink which were put together using just a base distilled spirit, sugar, water and bitters. In those days a ‘Brandy Cocktail‘ differed from a ‘Whisky Cocktail‘, only in that Brandy was used instead of Whisky as the base spirit. However, very early on (sometime around 1850) bartenders began to use liqueurs (typically Orange Curacao or Benedictine) either in conjunction with or sometimes in place of the ‘sugar’ in the recipe. Soon thereafter, a sour fruit garnish was added and the more complicated bar drink was called a Fancy.

This is a modern version of the traditional Fancy Brandy Cocktail.

Brandy Fancy

2 oz Brandy
3/8 oz Orange Curacao
1/8 oz Sugar syrup
2 dashes Angostura bitters
2 dashed Fees cocktail bitters
ice
lemon slice

Rim a chilled cocktail glass with sugar
Place the first five ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice
Shake until the sides of the shake frost (or are very cold)
Strain into a ‘Fancy’ chilled cocktail glass
Float a slice of Lemon on the top
Enjoy

Enjoy Responsibly!

Note: The Fancy and the Sour are almost certainly related as well. When, instead of just a sour fruit garnish, real sour fruit juice (such as lemon juice) was added to the bar drink, then the creation was usually termed a Sour.

If  you are interested in more cocktail recipes, please click this link (Cocktails and Recipes) for more of my mixed drink recipes!