Here we g0:

• 2 ounces Cream
• 2 Ounces Brandy
  You don’t have to break the bank with your Brandy choice, I use E&J and it is just fine.
• 2 ounces Dark Crème De Cacao

Add all ingredients in a shaker with plenty of cracked ice. The above recipe is almost enough for 2 large drinks but they’re so darn good, you’ll want seconds. Shake ‘til it is frosty and strain into a festive martini glass or double old-fashioned. Sprinkle nutmeg on top. Here’s a secret – Add a ½ ounce shot of Coffee Liqueur and you’ll have a great new twist on this classic. When I do this, I use Kamora.

Aptly named for the preferred mode of transportation for a certain booze-loving French captain, a man who arrived at the bar in a motorcycle sidecar and was later poured back into one; the Sidecar is a great drink, perfect for a party.

 Here we go –

•  1.5 oz Brandy
• 1 oz Cointreau or Curacao
• 1 oz Lemon Juice

 Shake ingredients with cracked ice, strain and serve ice-cold in a cocktail glass.

• You can make a Scotch Sidecar, which some prefer, by substituting the Brandy for Scotch.

As I write this, we’re swinging on into spring, so I thought I’d include a cocktail perfectly suited for your Easter ham and deviled eggs. There are plenty of flavored brandies on the market but if you’re just starting your home bar or don’t yet have any, apricot’s a great one to start with. It’s a subtle fruit flavor that’s not too dominant a taste, so it blends quite well with other spirits yet provides that fruit sweet you’ll often need. I like this cocktail a lot. It’s very pretty to look at and tastes like a drink your grandma might have sipped back in her day.

Here we go –

• 2 oz Apricot Brandy
• 2 Dashes Grenadine (Roses is fine)
• Club Soda or Ginger Ale or Ginger Beer
• Twist each of an orange and lemon peel.

Fill a hi-ball glass 2/3rds up with cracked ice, add the brandy and grenadine and stir. Fill the rest of the way with soda or ginger, add the peel and stir.

Here we go –

• 3 oz Brandy (don’t break the bank on a cocktail brandy)
• 1 tsp. Curacao
• 1 egg white

Shake above ingredients vigorously in a cocktail shaker ‘til you hear it thickening and you know it’s as cold as it is outside. Strain into a cocktail glass and sprinkle ground nutmeg over the top.

Here we go –

• 1 ½ oz Cognac or Brandy
• ½ oz Curacao
• ½ oz pineapple juice
• couple dashes bitters

Mix above ingredients with ice in mixing glass or glass cocktail pitcher. Strain into cocktail glass.

This is an easy drink to make and perfect for a belt for you and your guests to enjoy before heading out to dinner (no drinking and driving, buster).

Here we go –

• ½ oz White Crème de Menthe
• 1 oz Brandy

Shake with ice, strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Fun to say too ….”Stinger anyone?”

It’s more than obvious, but do I have a perfect spring sipper for you. This is one of those “oooh…ahhhh” drinks that your guests will drink up, both visually and figuratively. She’s a purty cocktail. Quite simple to mix, this drink will set the stage for the warm months ahead like pale, white arms poking out of a short-sleeved shirt.

Here we go –

• ¾ oz lemon juice
• ¼ oz cherry Brandy
• Dash grenadine
• 1 oz Brandy

Shake with ice in a shaker till cold, strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Mellow and strong, the Sir Walter’s a perfect cocktail for a quiet night. Having just a few friends over or a quiet evening with the little lady? Why not mix up a batch. I don’t know what it is about brandy, but as I creep ever deeper into middle age, I find this distilled grape spirit more and more approachable. Lots going on here but it’s not a busy drink, just a nice one.

Here we go –

• 1 ½ oz Brandy
• ¾ oz white Rum
• 1 tsp Curacao (not blue)
• 1 tsp grenadine
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Shake in a shaker with ice, strain into a cocktail glass.

Here we go –

• 1 ½ oz Rye
• 1 ½ oz Brandy
• 1 ½ tsp raspberry syrup
• 1 ½ tsp lime juice

Combine everything with ice into a shaker, shake till chilly-willy than strain into a cocktail glass.

With this drink, you’ll finally understand what all the hoopla’s about (“ouch”). This drink’s really starting to grow on me and is rapidly becoming one of Mr. Booze’s “go to’s” when entertaining a few guests before dinner or when you have a more adventurous drinker over. It isn’t one of those cocktails you can make a huge shaker of. Brandy or Cognac is an acquired taste and not all your guests will want one. Remember cold is king with cocktails, and this cocktail requires it.

Here we go –

• ¾ oz Brandy or Cognac
• ¾ oz Lillet Blanc
• ¾ oz Cointreau
• ¾ oz lemon juice

In a shaker, shake everything with ice ‘til quite cold, strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a lemon peel.