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Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/580366
www.cheersonline.com 14 • October 2015 that have a more complex fl avor." It also brings depth and richness to a drink, he says. The Vieux Carre, made with Cognac, rye, sweet vermouth, Benedictine and bitters, "has defi nitely stood the test of time," says Treadway. What's more, brandy lends itself to modern mixology. Treadway, for example, infuses Cognac with foie gras and then mixes the result in cocktails such as a brandy Manhattan or a Brandy Sour with red currants and lavender. "At Celeste, brandy is more cocktail-driven," says Horocki. A new creation is Mr. Yuzu's Cognac Dreamsicle, made with Pierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac, El Dorado 5-Year Rum, Pineau des Charentes, a house-made vanilla-yuzu cordial and Grand Marnier. The frozen Electric Pisco Colada Kappa was a summer fave: a creamy blend of pisco, roasted pineapple, coconut milk and Crème de Noyeaux. All cocktails are $13. Totally dedicated to the spirit of the grape is The Cognac Room in San Francisco. The intimate bar tucked away on the second level of Gaspar Brasserie is part of Franck LeClerc's four-restaurant group. "We have the largest brandy-based cocktail program on the West Coast—perhaps nationally," says lead bartender John Codd. Formerly with The Slanted Door Group, Codd was brought in to create the bar program at The Cognac Room, which opened in June. Codd perused hundreds of vintage cocktail books for inspiration, gleaning 50 brandy-based recipes for The Cognac Room. "I found a lot of hidden gems, some pre-Prohibition cocktails I'd never heard of, some of which have become my favorites—and my customers'." A leather-bound menu lists drinks such as the Depth Bomb, with Calvados, Cognac, grenadine, demerara syrup and lemon bitters; and the Sahara Glowing Heart, with Citadella gin, apricot eau de vie, THE OLD FASHIONED BETS ON BRANDY AND BOUNCES A poster on the wall at The Old Fashioned Tavern & Restaurant in Madison, WI, keeps score: 650,000 Brandy Old Fashioneds served, up from 629,102 the previous month. "We only keep track of the ones made with Korbel brandy," says Jessica Carrier, daytime manager and events coordinator. "So I suppose the count is a few more than that, if you include our Old Fashioneds made with local apple brandy—or even whiskey." Wisconsin has a soft spot for brandy, Carrier says, due to its cold climate. "We prefer using Korbel. We take up a big portion of their sales here in Wisconsin." Although not on the menu, Korbel & Coke is a popular call. Another specialty is Brandy Slush; scoops of a frozen brandy and orange concoction in a fl oat with soda water. But the Brandy Old Fashioned ($5.50) is far and away the number-one selling cocktail at the eponymous restaurant, which also boasts 50 draft lines of beer. The signature drink starts with brandy and natural-cane sugar cubes, muddled with the state's famous Door Country maraschino cherries, four long dashes of Angostura bitters and a slice of fresh orange. Then there's a choice of mixers—sweet, sour or soda. The cocktail is garnished with a speared whole cherry and orange wheel. Variations include the Apple Jack Old Fashioned ($6.50) with Madison's own Yahara Bay Apple Brandy, one with bourbon, as well as seasonally offerings of blackberry and pear brandies. Guests can also opt to build their own Old Fashioned. The menu guides customers through the process step by step: Pick the booze, choose some bitters, add a mixer and create a garnish. Cherry Bounce, an old Colonial quaff said to be a favorite of George Washington, is another specialty. The restaurant's management staff hand-pick those Door County cherries in the summer; the cherries are then infused for months in brandy. The Cherry Bounce is cracked open at the restaurant's anniversary the fi rst Saturday in December, an event celebrated with polka music and plenty of bounce.—THS UNCONVENTIONAL PISCO POPS Felipe's Taqueria, a New Orleans-based, fast-casual Mexican concept with a craft cocktail bar, specializes in Latin American spirits, particularly the grape brandy pisco. In addition to the Pisco Sour and Pisco Punch, the bar offers several specialty pisco cocktails. The more unusual drinks were discovered by bar director Nathan Dalton during research trips to South America. The Chinguerito ($9) is enjoyed while treading the grapes at harvest time; it's a mix of cinnamon, pisco, lime juice and freshly crushed grapes. The Algarrobina ($9) is a rich, creamy pisco drink made with syrup from the Peruvian algarrobina tree. "It's like a pisco milkshake," says Dalton. The most popular cocktail at the company's Tiki Tolteca bar is A Huevo ($13), a "Tiki-ed" version of the traditional Leche de Monja. First, a whole raw egg (in shell) is soaked in lime juice for two weeks; this dissolves the shell but leaves the egg intact. That aged egg is blended with passion fruit, falernum, ginger beer and pisco. To top it off, the cocktail is garnished with jambu, an Amazon fl ower that produces a cool, tingling sensation in the mouth. "It's like Pop Rocks," says Dalton.—THS BRINGING UP BRANDY