Alexander served up in a cocktail glass dusted with grated nutmeg

IBA

Alexander – IBA

Name: Alexander – IBA
Prep time: 3 min
Total time: 3 min
Yield: 1 serving
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: Cognac — 30 ml (1 oz); Brown crème de cacao — 30 ml (1 oz); Single cream/half-and-half — 30 ml (1 oz)

A sweet and creamy cocktail ∙ Shake ∙ 3 min ∙ 14.9% ABV ∙

The Alexander – IBA is the cognac version of the Alexander: equal parts cognac, brown crème de cacao, and cream, shaken and served up with nutmeg.

Ingredients

Servings

Garnish

Grated nutmeg

Instructions for 1 serving

Pre-chill a glass
Shake all ingredients with ice: Cognac 30 mlBrown crème de cacao 30 mlSingle cream/half-and-half 30 ml
Strain into the chilled cocktail glass
Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg

Tips

With a full third of the drink in cream, shake hard with cubed ice for 15–18 seconds; you're whipping air into it, not just chilling it.

History

The Alexander – IBA is the cognac-based Alexander codified today: equal parts cognac, brown crème de cacao, and cream. Brandy later began replacing the gin of the original, and the brandy version appears alongside the gin one in Harry Craddock's 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book. Some trace it to the 1922 London wedding of Princess Mary and Viscount Lascelles, though this is one of several competing stories. The brandy rendition, known as the Brandy Alexander, eventually eclipsed the gin original.

The original Alexander, made with gin, crème de cacao, and cream, first appeared in print in 1914 and was recorded in Hugo Ensslin's 1916 Recipes for Mixed Drinks. Its namesake is disputed: it is most often credited to a bartender named Alexander at Rector's in New York, said to have made it for a party around the Phoebe Snow advertising campaign, while others name pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander.