Brandy Cassis

This is a sweet brandy cocktail that finds an interesting use for creme de cassis, that black currant liqueur. A good creme de cassis is key to making this taste at all elegant. Otherwise it will be syrupy and sort of cheap tasting.

When it comes to choice of brandy, use cognac please. You need a dry but also somewhat complex brandy to stand up to the sweetness of the cassis.

For glassware, the recommendation is a cocktail glass, but I don't find the proportions sufficient to warrant such a big glass. A sour glass will do well, and is much closer to the glass recommendation of the Kir and Byrrh Cassis cocktails, which are the major creme de cassis drinks.

• 2 oz. brandy (Courvoisier VS used)
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. creme de cassis (G. E. Massenez used)
• lemon twist

Combine all ingredients except lemon twist in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass (sour glass pictured) and garnish with twist.