Now is a great time to talk about using Brandy in cocktails. I would like to celebrate that this is my 5th week of talking to you. I hope you have enjoyed this conversation that we're building. So I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I was going to be doing a presentation for a silent film where we pair a spirit and with a silent film in a presentation. The films were fantastic the background music was played live by the Blancos Father & Sons for you and they were excellent. The spirits that I presented to the lovely group of people that were was there we're Brandies. I'm not going to talk to you about the history of brandy or its origin because most of the people who read my blog probably already know that stuff but I will talk to you about the cocktails that we served. To begin the evening we started with a Metropolitan made with Presidente Brandy I talked a little bit about Presidente it's from Mexico in case you've never heard of it but you probably have because it's one of the best selling spirits in the world so I'm not going to talk about it I will tell you that it was delicious in the Metropolitan and if you're ever out shopping you should pick up a bottle and a bottle of sweet vermouth and you probably have some Bitters and there you have it.
A Metropolitan cocktail is a simply delicious and historic cocktail it dates back to the late 19th century. It's very simple to understand a Manhattan as a variation on a Metropolitan. The drink is absolutely delicious. I would bet everyone who tried a Manhattan versus a Metropolitan would very easily, simply, and happily prefer the Metropolitan.
The next cocktail was a Brandy Alexander (brandy, cream, and creme de cacao). This drink is amazing. Such a wonderful drink. Then we sipped Don Pedro Brandy as I talked some more and as a finally Andrew, the bar manager at The Exhibition Room in Long Beach, where we were made Hot Buttered Brandy for everyone. It was a lovely finish to accompany the Silent Film


Metropolitan Cocktail
2 oz brandy
1 oz sweet vermouth
1/2 teaspoon simple syrup (I leave this out)
2 dashes Angostura bitters


Brandy Alexander 1 oz (1 part) Fresh cream, 1 oz (1 part) Brandy 1 oz (1 part) Crème de cacao

Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Sprinkle with fresh ground nutmeg.

So until next week, I lift my glass to you in a toast my friends. Be good to one another, love one another, share your kindness, your sweetness, and possibly a beverage with someone!