SPANISH brandy is legendary and of course inexpensive to buy at local shops, which therefore lends itself to making a refreshing cocktail.
In fact hijacking the unofficial national cocktail of Cyprus is not a bad idea, as brandy and another of Spain´s big products, lemons, make up the bulk of the concoction.
If you´ve ever been to Cyprus, then you will know it doesn´t take long for you to be offered the chance to buy a brandy sour at a bar or restaurant, and from my personal first experience some 30 years ago, I have to say that it goes down very nicely.
A quick bit of brandy sour history shows that the cocktail was created following the introduction of the first blended brandy made on Cyprus in the early 1930s.
Brandy sour made the first appearance at the Forest Park Hotel, in the inland resort of Platres, and was made for the then-young King Farouk of Egypt who often stayed at the hotel during his frequent visits to the island.
The preparation time for a brandy sour is under two minutes, and the ingredients for a single serving are:-
60ml Brandy
30ml Fresh lemon juice
15ml Sugar syrup
3 dashes Angostura Bitters
1 Lemon Wedge
Ice Cubes
Just put all the ingredients into a shaker and shake away to your heart´s content for up to two minutes, and then garnish with a lemon wedge, and serve.
