Creamy · Nightcap · Winter

Alexander

Cream, brown cacao liqueur and cognac go into the shaker together and come out silky. Nutmeg grated over the top; drink it instead of dessert.

Base: Cognac
Glass: Coupe glass
Method: Shake
Strength: 17% ABV

Ingredients

30 mlCognac2 swaps
Armagnachigh
Similar, slightly bolder and drier
Bourbonmedium
Richer, sweeter, more vanilla
30 mlCrème de Cacao2 swaps
White crème de cacaomedium
Same flavour, clearer/paler drink
Chocolate liqueurmedium
Sweeter, more candy-like
Cut by 5 ml if very sweet
30 mlFresh Cream2 swaps
Whole milk or half-and-halfmedium
Lighter, less rich
Oat creammedium
Makes it dairy-free/vegan, slightly nutty

How to make

Technique

Shake · 10–15s

Shaking chills the drink fast while adding dilution and a light texture.

Chill a coupe glass in the freezer or with ice water.
Add cognac, brown crème de cacao and fresh cream to a shaker.
Fill the shaker with cubed ice.
Shake hard for 10–15 seconds until very cold and frothy.
Fine-strain into the chilled coupe.
Grate fresh nutmeg over the top.

Serve

Glass

Coupe glassAlso fine: Martini glass, Nick & Nora glass

Garnish

Grated nutmegGrate fresh nutmeg over the top for aroma

Taste & nutrition

17%ABV

257kcal

1.5Drinks

StrengthMedium

Sweet to drySweet

Estimated from ingredient amounts and assumed ABVs — not a lab measurement.

Good to know

Too rich? Swap half the cream for whole milk to lighten the body.
Use freshly grated nutmeg, not pre-ground — the aroma is the whole finish.
Shake hard and long; the cream needs the aeration to turn silky.

History

Year1910s

PlaceNew York, USA

Created byDisputed (often attributed to bartender Troy Alexander)

A silky mix of gin, crème de cacao and cream, the Alexander turns up in print by the mid-1910s, including Hugo Ensslin's 1916 recipe book. Its exact parentage is murky: some accounts tie the name to a Philadelphia bartender toasting a baseball star, others to a New York barman called Troy Alexander. The gin version later gave way in popularity to the brandy-based Alexander. Either way, it remains one of the earliest dessert-style cocktails.

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