Alexander
The Alexander is a rich, creamy and decadent cocktail, with a long history, dating back to at least 1916, with a recipe appearing in Hugo Ensslin’s book Recipes for Mixed Drinks which came out that year. The egg white is an especially important ingredient in the drink, as explained in the Stanley Clisby Arthur’s 1937 book Famous New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix ‘em:
“Smooth as cream, delicate a dew, and easily prepared is the Alexander. Some who mix this particular cocktail do not use the white of egg. A mistake, for the albumen gives a froth and an added smoothness which makes this cocktail different. Like all drinks in which egg white is used vigorous shaking is required. Give the Alexander all you’ve got in elbow grease to make it live up to its reputation - for it is truly Alexander the Great among drinks in its class.”
There are several origin theories for this cocktail. One story comes from a 3 October 1915 cutting of the newspaper Philadelphia Inquirer, which references The Racquet Club and the 1915 World Series, which was won by Boston, who beat Philadelphia. It says: “The head bartender has even gone so far as to invent an Alexander cocktail, which he is reserving to be served during the World Series.” The drink was created in honour of the Philadelphia pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander.
Another popular story, more to do with the cocktail’s popularity than its origin, dates back to a 21 March 1929 newspaper column by the New York columnist Walter Winchell. It says that the drink was invented by Troy Alexander, a bartender at the New York pre-Prohibition era lobster restaurant Rector’s. It says that Troy created the drink for a dinner which was celebrating a successful ad campaign.
The ads showed Phoebe Snow, a fictitious railway traveller, wearing a white dress which remains spotless even after travelling in the coal fuelled trains that often covered travellers with black soot. The ads highlight the company Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad (DL&W)’s use of clean burning anthracite for its locomotives. These ads ran for almost 70 years. Phoebe became one of America’s most popular ad mascots, and the Alexander became a Prohibition era favourite since the cream and nutmeg helped disguise the strong and harsh taste of the cheap gin that was available at the time.
Over time, the Alexander has given rise to many variations as well:
Grasshopper: This variant uses crème de menthe verde instead of cognac and is generally lighter.
Alexandra: This one uses light cocoa cream instead of the dark one and replaces the nutmeg with cocoa.
Alexander’s Sister: This cocktail replaces the crème de cacao with crème de menthe.
Alejandro: In this cocktail, replace the cognac with rum
Ingredients
Method
- Add ice cubes in a cocktail shaker and pour all the ingredients in.
- Shake well.
- Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
- Garnish with fresh ground nutmeg.
