the new hotness : cocktail du moment: brandy : lower-cal blackberry brandy alexander

"...the Brandy Alexander was known for decades as a "girl drink." This referred not, as you might assume, to the drink's ability to emasculate any man holding it but to its usage by amorous men to cripple female defenses. "More girls probably became pregnant as a result of guzzling brandy alexander [sic]," writes Joseph Lanza in The Cocktail, quoting from an article in a 1966 issue of Playboy Magazine, "than from any other single cause during the 1920s."

Discovered on epicurious.com, basic recipe courtesy of Seattle's Zig Zag Cafe, with slight tweaking*.

2 oz blackberry flavored brandy
1/2 oz dark crème de cacao
1/2 oz fat-free evaporated skimmed milk
ground nutmeg

Shake brandy, crème de cacao, and milk with ice. Strain into a 6 oz cocktail glass and dash with nutmeg to taste.

---

*...so as to be enjoyed with less guilt [compared to heavy cream]. That, and substituting the blackberry† variety of brandy gives it a perty violet color and makes it even more tasty.
†I've also tried apricot flavored brandy, but prefer the blackberry, hands down.

After a quick search of the Webtender, I've learned that a genuine Alexander uses gin as the base spirit, and it appears that there are several different ratios out there (1:1:1, 1.5:1:1, 0.5:0.5:2). However, if you've read the epicurious article, you'll note that the authority from the Zig Zag stresses that the crème de cacao and cream should take backseat to the brandy. And, seriously, even at our 2:0.5:0.5 ratio, it is still deceptively sweet-tasting despite being so formidably strong.

Per the Webtender findings, I will indeed be experimenting with the Amaretto, Big Brother, and Sister varieties.