Brandy Buck
- 2 oz Brandy
- 3/4 oz Lemon Juice
- 3 oz Ginger Ale
Shake the brandy and lemon juice with ice cubes. Strain onto new ice and top with ginger ale. Garnish with a spent lemon shell.
| Prep Time | 1 minute |
| Servings | 1 |
| Category | Buck |
| Tags | 1840-1880 (Cocktails Arrive), Summer Drink |
| Proof | 23.7 |
| Strength | 1.3 standard drinks |
| Glass | Highball Glass |
| Temp | Cold |
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I am not loving this base spirit (brandy) in a Buck. It might be because I'm using a rather light Cognac (Landy VS). The drink doesn't taste bad, just a little thin. I tried this right after an out of the park New Orleans Buck which had all kinds of flavors going on - maybe the opening act was too good for the closer?
I did use an on the spot ginger beer preparation consisting of 9 drops of Jamaica Ginger, a pinch each of citric and tartaric acid, 2 heaping teaspoons of double strength simple syrup and 3 ounces of club soda for the topper. Everything got shaken except the club soda.
While Jamaica Ginger makes a good ginger ale or ginger beer (use less or more respectively), I'm thinking you need more than that to make a really tasty ginger beer. The acids help give it some snap but it's not quite the same.
Or maybe brandy and ginger ale aren't meant for one another? I can hardly believe that as a Brandy Buck was quite a popular drink during it's heyday (before gin started to poach bartenders to it's side). I'd be interested to hear what the readers think.
Next time I will try Camus VS Cognac.
Rating (Liquor & Drink)
Landy VS Cognac, lemon juice and homemade ginger beer. 7/16/2012