Name: Brandywine Sour
Prep time: 3 min
Cook time: 2 min
Total time: 5 min
Yield: 1
Ingredients: 2 fl oz Cognac; 2 fl oz Sweet & Sour Mix (Click for Recipe); 1 fl oz Dessert Wine; 1 tsp Red Wine Syrup (Click for Recipe)

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Cocktail History

The Brandywine Sour is a dessert cocktail that was created by bar manager and author Nick Mautone and was first published in his book The Artisanal Kitchen: Holiday Cocktails. The recipe mixes a tart citrus sour mix with brandy, homemade red wine syrup, and dessert wine, which is what makes it truly unique. It can taste drastically different depending on the type of wine used.

Cocktail Ingredients

To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:

Cognac: This is a type of brandy made in the Cognac region of France with grapes and yeast, which are distilled and then aged in oak barrels to develop a smooth, complex flavor.

Sweet & Sour Mix: This is a sweetener made with lemon juice, lime juice, white sugar, and water, which are blended and heated into a syrup with a balanced sweet-tart flavor.

Dessert Wine: This is a type of wine made with grapes and yeast, which are fermented through late harvesting, fortification, or stopping fermentation to develop a richer, sweet flavor.

Red Wine Syrup: This is a sweetener made with red wine and white sugar, which are heated and infused into a syrup with a deep, grape flavor.

Brands I Used

Bartending Tools

To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following bar tools:

Bar Mat: This is a rubber or silicone mat that’s placed on the bar surface and used for catching spills, providing grip for glasses and tools, and keeping the workspace clean and organized.

Jigger: This is a small double-sided tool with different volume measurements on each side that’s used for accurately portioning ingredients.

Boston Shaker: This is a two-piece cocktail shaker made with a large metal tin and a second tin or mixing glass that’s used for shaking and chilling cocktail ingredients.

Hawthorne Strainer: This is a flat metal strainer with a handle and a coiled spring around the edge that’s used for straining shaken cocktails from a shaker while holding back ice and solids.

Stemless Wine Glass: This is a stemless glass with a rounded bowl and flat base that’s used for serving wine and cocktails in a casual, easy-to-hold style.

Tools I Used

Tasting Notes

This cocktail has the following flavor profile:

• Appearance: Bright red-pink color

• Aroma: Sweet white wine with a hint of pineapple

• Taste: Sweet dessert flavor with grape-alcohol notes and light-bodied ice wine

• Finish: Brandy, oak tannin, and tart lemon

Kendall’s Take: “I don’t think this was meant to be a Valentine’s Day recipe given it came from a Christmas cocktail book, but wow, does it taste like sweeTART candy in a glass. The fruity ice wine dances across the palate and is interwoven between notes of brandy and dark red wine, and the frothiness from the sweet and sour mix is a fun addition. All in all, the Brandywine Sour one heck of a delicious wine cocktail that is worth indulging in come time for dessert any time of the year.”