🏠» Cocktails » Swank Cocktail Guide: 80 cocktails in 80 days
The Alexander No. 2 is cocktail number four on the Swank Cocktail Guide.
Gin Alexander Cocktail history
The Swank Cocktail Guide contains three Alexander cocktail recipes: Alexander No. 1 contains brandy, and this version, Alexander No. 2, and Alexander’s Sister both include gin.
As the Brandy Alexander post states, it is believed the gin version of the cocktail was created earlier (circa 1910) than the Brandy Alexander (mid-1930s).
In Hugo R. Ensslin’s Recipes for Mixed Drinks (1916-1917), the Gin Alexander was included on page 6.
Additional Alexander Cocktails
A mention of presumably another Alexander cocktail invented in Philadelphia for a World Series celebration appeared in the news in October 1915.
Additionally, an Alexander Cocktail recipe appeared in Straub’s Manual of Mixed Drinks in 1913 containing Rye Whisky and Benedictine.
Alexander No. 2 (gin) cocktail recipe
1/3 Brandy, 1/3 Creme de Cacao, 1/3 Cream. Shake with ice and strain into glass.
Ingredients used:
- 1) Bertha’s Revenge Small Batch Gin and 2) Hendricks Gin (see below)
- Hiram Walker Creme de Cacao
- Light Cream
Alexander No. 2 cocktail review
Our ratings (1-5 🍸) Rating scale
Greg: 🍸🍸🍸🍸
Kim: 🍸🍸🍸🍸
When we spent a month in Edinburgh a few years ago, we fell in love with several gin bars that had hundreds of types of gin on the menus. The vast flavor differences in brands and styles could keep one busy sampling for many years.
We first drank Bertha’s Revenge Milk Gin at J.P. Clarke’s near Bunratty Castle in Ireland and, after returning to the United States, we added it to our rotation of gins we drink on a regular basis. It is named after, Bertha, a cow who lived nearly 49 years and gave birth to 39 calves. Bertha’s Revenge is a bit of a spicy gin with a hint of sweetness, which we typically drink with club soda and a slice of orange.
Given the vast array of flavors found in gins, we decided to try the Gin Alexander Cocktail using two different gins, the mild Hendrick’s, which is produced in Scotland, and the bolder Bertha’s Revenge. The difference in the gins came through loud and clear in the Gin Alexander.
Next up…Cocktail #5, Alexander’s Sister.
