cocktail review no. 21 - Brandy Alexander

Just to clarify, this is not my pick for Christmas cocktail of 2009. That's coming later. This is just a prelude. Well, it would've been my pick, knowing what's in it and all, but the fact remains that it's a cold drink, and this is the season for hot ones. So there'll be a hot drink coming later. Oh, heck, it's Christmastime. Let's just call this one Christmas Cocktail the First. The other will be Christmas Cocktail the Second. Not that I'm advocating anybody getting smashed during the holidays, but one more won't hurt, now will it? (Insert grim chuckle here.) Anyway, this cocktail is one of the ones I learned about last Saturday. It's a cream drink.

• 1½ ounces brandy
• 1 ounce dark crème de cacao
• 1 ounce half-and-half
• ¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg

In a shaker half-filled with ice cubes, combine the brandy, crème de cacao, and half-and-half. Shake well. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with the nutmeg. I didn't make mine with nutmeg the other night, mainly because I was a bad bartender and forgot there was supposed to be nutmeg in it; but it was a decent drink as cream drinks go. I'm not big on crème de cacao, and I wasn't really in the mood for something creamy that night (my brother had just gotten home from the University of Wyoming, and I hadn't seen him in 18 months, so my mind was elsewhere). Still and all, I'd recommend this drink around this time of year. I feel like making it again to give it a fairer shake. Something to sip by the fire, or in company, or (as with the tower topper) while cooking.