Tag Archives: winter cocktails

Drink of the Week: Brandy Flip

Short, cool days make me crave short, strong drinks, like the Brandy Flip. It also helps that I’m researching this particular libation for my March Avenue magazine column, so I decided to make one in the name of journalistic inquiry.

The nutmeg makes a pretty and fragrant garnish on a brandy flip.

The nutmeg makes a pretty and fragrant garnish on a brandy flip.

This drink could be mistaken for eggnog, what with the booze and cream and sugar and egg. And it is rather like a single serving of nog, but it exclusively uses brandy (or even better, cognac) rather than bourbon or rum. And though some brandy flip recipes omit the egg, let’s be honest — do you really want to shake a whole egg (including the yolk!) into your cocktail without a dairy buffer? Adding cream or milk smooths out the drink.

The end result is a strong fireside sip with all the charm of eggnog, but without its baggage (mainly, the name). In a word, you’ll flip for it. (Sorry.)

I prefer cognac in my brandy flip.

I prefer cognac in my brandy flip.

Brandy Flip

  • 1-1/2 oz Remy Martin VSOP cognac
  • 1/3 oz simple syrup
  • 1/3 oz cream (I used 2% milk = fewer calories)
  • 1 fresh whole egg
  • Nutmeg ganish

Vigorously shake all ingredients with ice then double strain into a chilled martini glass. Sprinkle nutmeg on top for garnish.

Drink of the Week: Frangelico Nutty Irishman

I know the holidays are technically over but I couldn’t resist breaking out the sweet stuff for one more frothy winter cocktail. As occasionally happens in my line of work, a bottle shaped like a monk’s habit appeared on my doorstep late last summer. I took it as a sign I needed to try the Frangelico captured within, and squirreled it away until tonight.

When this monk comes knocking, let him in.

When this monk comes knocking, let him in.

Frangelico is an Italian hazelnut liqueur made from wild hazelnuts found in the Piedmont region of northern Italy. It was evidently created by a group of minks monkeys (I’m drunk) monks some 300 years ago and then named after a monk of their order with hermit-like tendencies, brother Angelico. Or, abbreviated in Euro-speak, Fra. Angelico. Get it? Frangelico has a sweet and nutty taste, with cocoa and vanilla notes that further endear it to sipping this time of year.

No one is sure when the order got its party on with a bunch of flying Dutchmen wild Irishmen, but the end result of that crazy rendezvous is what I’ve been sipping on all night the past little while: a Frangelico Nutty Irishman.

It tastes kind of like a boozy chocolate-vanilla milkshake. I recommend it in the morning for breakfast as an after-dinner dessert drink. Best tipped back next to an open fireplace, snuggled under a blanket. Enjoy!

Mmmm... boozy milkshake.

Mmmm… boozy milkshake.

Frangelico Nutty Irishman

  • 1-1/2 oz Frangelico
  • 1-1/2 oz Carolans Irish Cream (I used Baileys)
  • Ice cubes

Blend ingredients with 3-4 ice cubes. Serve on the rocks.

— Recipe courtesy Frangelico