Brandy Daisy
Encyclopedia
The Brandy Daisy is a cocktail
which first gained popularity in the late 19th century. One of the earliest known recipes was published in 1876 in the second edition of Jerry Thomas's The Bartenders Guide or How To Mix Drinks: The Bon-Vivants Companion:
Over the years, multiple variants of the recipe developed, including other daisies involving other base spirits, such as whiskey or gin
. The gin-based daisy, in at least one bartender's guide from the mid-1930s, is considered an early incarnation of the Cosmopolitan
, a drink today well known as a citrus vodka-based concoction. Fresh citrus — typically lemon juice, but occasionally orange
or lime
juice — is common throughout most daisy recipes. Liqueurs or cordials also figure prominently, ranging from Curaçao to maraschino
or yellow Chartreuse
(a suggestion from the writer Nathaniel Gubbins
in his 1899 book The Flowing Bowl), distinguishing the daisy from other sour cocktails. Additional sweeteners sometimes added range from gomme syrup to grenadine
syrup, raspberry
syrup, or bar sugar
.
A later recipe, published in 1941 in Old Mr Boston's De Luxe Official Bartender's Book includes the following instructions:
The daisy was the forerunner to other popular cocktails, notably the sidecar, from around the end of World War I, and the margarita
, during the late 1930s and early 1940s. Even as the margarita has become especially popular during the late 20th and early 21st centuries, its base spirit has also surfaced in both tequila
daisies and sidecars.
Cocktail
A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink that contains two or more ingredients—at least one of the ingredients must be a spirit.Cocktails were originally a mixture of spirits, sugar, water, and bitters. The word has come to mean almost any mixed drink that contains alcohol...
which first gained popularity in the late 19th century. One of the earliest known recipes was published in 1876 in the second edition of Jerry Thomas's The Bartenders Guide or How To Mix Drinks: The Bon-Vivants Companion:
- 3 or 4 dashes gum syrup
- 2 or 3 dashes of Curaçao liqueur
Curaçao liqueurCuraçao is a liqueur flavoured with the dried peel of the laraha citrus fruit, grown on the island of Curaçao. A non-native plant similar to an orange, the laraha developed from the sweet Valencia orange transplanted by Spanish explorers. The nutrient-poor soil and arid climate of Curaçao proved...- The juice of half a small lemon
LemonThe lemon is both a small evergreen tree native to Asia, and the tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit. The fruit is used for culinary and non-culinary purposes throughout the world – primarily for its juice, though the pulp and rind are also used, mainly in cooking and baking...- 1 small wine-glass of brandy
BrandyBrandy is a spirit produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35%–60% alcohol by volume and is typically taken as an after-dinner drink...- 2 dashes of Jamaica rum
RumRum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak barrels...
Fill glass one-third full of shaved ice. Shake well, strain into a large cocktail glassCocktail glassA cocktail glass is a stemmed glass which has a cone-shaped bowl placed upon a stem above a flat base. It is mainly used to serve cocktails. Its form derives from the fact that all cocktails are traditionally served chilled and contain an aromatic element...
, and fill up with SeltzerCarbonated waterCarbonated water is water into which carbon dioxide gas under pressure has been dissolved, a process that causes the water to become effervescent....
water from a syphon.
Over the years, multiple variants of the recipe developed, including other daisies involving other base spirits, such as whiskey or gin
Gin
Gin is a spirit which derives its predominant flavour from juniper berries . Although several different styles of gin have existed since its origins, it is broadly differentiated into two basic legal categories...
. The gin-based daisy, in at least one bartender's guide from the mid-1930s, is considered an early incarnation of the Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan (cocktail)
A cosmopolitan is a cocktail made with vodka, triple sec, cranberry juice, and freshly squeezed lime juice or sweetened lime juice. Informally, it is referred to as a Cosmo.-History:...
, a drink today well known as a citrus vodka-based concoction. Fresh citrus — typically lemon juice, but occasionally orange
Orange (fruit)
An orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus × sinensis and its fruit. It is the most commonly grown tree fruit in the world....
or lime
Lime (fruit)
Lime is a term referring to a number of different citrus fruits, both species and hybrids, which are typically round, green to yellow in color, 3–6 cm in diameter, and containing sour and acidic pulp. Limes are a good source of vitamin C. Limes are often used to accent the flavors of foods and...
juice — is common throughout most daisy recipes. Liqueurs or cordials also figure prominently, ranging from Curaçao to maraschino
Maraschino
Maraschino .The liqueur's distinctive flavor comes from the Marasca cherries, and the crushed cherry pits lend an almond-like flavor to Maraschino...
or yellow Chartreuse
Chartreuse (liqueur)
Chartreuse is a French liqueur made by the Carthusian Monks since the 1740s. It is composed of distilled alcohol aged with 130 herbal extracts. The liqueur is named after the Monks' Grande Chartreuse monastery, located in the Chartreuse Mountains in the general region of Grenoble in France...
(a suggestion from the writer Nathaniel Gubbins
Nathaniel Gubbins
Nathaniel Gubbins was a British journalist and humourist.As a boy he worked in the Daily Express archives; after he fought in World War I he was rehired as a reporter, but later was laid off...
in his 1899 book The Flowing Bowl), distinguishing the daisy from other sour cocktails. Additional sweeteners sometimes added range from gomme syrup to grenadine
Grenadine
Grenadine is traditionally a red syrup. It is used as an ingredient in cocktails, both for its flavor and to give a reddish/pink tinge to mixed drinks. "Grenadines" are also made by mixing the syrup with cold water in a glass or pitcher, sometimes with ice....
syrup, raspberry
Raspberry
The raspberry or hindberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus Rubus, most of which are in the subgenus Idaeobatus; the name also applies to these plants themselves...
syrup, or bar sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
.
A later recipe, published in 1941 in Old Mr Boston's De Luxe Official Bartender's Book includes the following instructions:
- 2 oz California brandy
- juice of ½ lemon
- 1 tsp raspberry syrup or grenadine
- ½ tsp powdered sugar
- fill cracked ice
Shake well with cracked ice and strain into stein or 8 oz. metal cup. Add cube of ice and decorate with fruit.
The daisy was the forerunner to other popular cocktails, notably the sidecar, from around the end of World War I, and the margarita
Margarita
The margarita is a cocktail consisting of tequila mixed with orange-flavoured liqueur and lime or lemon juice, often served with salt on the glass rim. It is the most common tequila-based cocktail in the United States...
, during the late 1930s and early 1940s. Even as the margarita has become especially popular during the late 20th and early 21st centuries, its base spirit has also surfaced in both tequila
Tequila
Tequila is a spirit made from the blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila, northwest of Guadalajara, and in the highlands of the western Mexican state of Jalisco....
daisies and sidecars.