Among the many vintage gems found in “Professor” Jerry Thomas’s illustrated Bartender’s Guide of 1862, is a drink that originated in New Orleans called a Brandy Crusta. The recipe, which dates to 1852, called for Cognac, lemon juice, orange liqueur, and several types of bitters, served in a glass with a sugar “crust” (hence the name). Somewhere down the line (Dale DeGroff says it was Harry’s New York Bar in Paris in 1930), the Brandy Crusta was reimagined — sans bitters — and dubbed the Sidecar.
The Essentials
Cognac
Cointreau
Lemon Juice
Shaker
Mix it Up
Brandy
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Dry
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Easy
Honeymoon
Essentially an Apple Brandy Sour, this tart cocktail first appeared in Hugo Ensslin’s Recipes for Mixed Drinks in 1916. But it didn’t gain widespread popularity until the 1920s when Los Angeles’s iconic (and now, sadly, defunct) Brown Derby restaurant featured it on the menu. The drink is an invigorating mix of applejack (o...