The Brandy Crusta
The Brandy Crusta was invented in the 1850s, by an Italian bartender named Joseph Santini, who was working in New Orleans’ St Louis Hotel. Chris Hannah, who previously worked at Arnaud’s French 75 Bar and later at Jewel of the South, is credited as being the first bartender to bring the drink back to its home city. At that time, the cocktail couldn't be found in local cocktail menus, but today, it's as popular as other New Orleans classics like the Sazerac and the Ramos Gin Fizz.
A big part of its popularity is being published in David Wondrich’s James Beard Award winning book Imbibe! In 2007. Before that, the cocktail was served at a handful of bars across the country, but the book brought it into the mainstream and took it to the masses. The book also establishes the cocktail’s position as one of the oldest classic cocktails on the record. The cocktail’s classic origins are on display in being mentioned in Jerry Thomas’ 1862 book Bar-Tender’s Guide. It’s the world’s first cocktail book, and the Brandy Crusta is the fourth cocktail to be illustrated there. After that, the cocktail became a cult favourite.
Neal Bodenheimer, founder of the New Orleans bar Cure and author of Cure: New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix ‘Em, writes about the drink: “What is notable about this drink is the introduction of lemon juice. This was not common practice at the time, and it set the stage for other delicious, important drinks like the sidecar and the daisy (an inspiration for the margarita).” For the garnish, Bodenheimer recommends using a horse’s neck lemon twist, named so because of its resemblance to the curve of a horse’s neck. For this, one needs to use a Y peeler to cut the entire peel of the fruit in one long spiral. It then has to be coiled along the inside of the glass, and draped over the rim if desired.
One of the modern variations of the drink is a blue version of the drink, which uses blue curaçao instead of the cointreau, white Brandy or eau de vie instead of the aged brandy and orange bitters instead of the aromatic bitters. However, even with all these substitutes, it tastes pretty close to the original cocktail, and certainly works in a fix. The flavours don't change much but the bright colour comes through. Make sure to make a blue sugared rim for this version of the cocktail.
Ingredients
Method
-Mix together all the ingredients with ice cubes in a mixing glass.
-Strain it into a prepared slim cocktail glass.
-For the garnish, rub a slice of orange (or lemon) around the rim of the glass and dip it in pulverized white sugar, so that the sugar will adhere to the edge of the glass.
-Carefully curl it, and place the orange/lemon peel around the inside of the glass.
