Preparation:

Stir well with cracked ice in a cocktail shaker, then strain into a chilled Collins glass and top with a splash of chilled club soda or seltzer.

• 1 1/2 ounces vodka
• 1 1/2 ounces brandy
• 1 teaspoon sherry
• 1 1/2 ounces Brut champagne

Preparation:

Stir the vodka, brandy,* and sherry** well with cracked ice, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass and add 1 1/2 to 2 ounces cold brut champagne. Garnish with plastic three-eyed fish from Simpsons playset.

• 2 ounces ruby port
• 1 ounce brandy
• 1 dash orange juice

Preparation:

Shake the port, brandy (Spanish works particularly well), and juice* well with cracked ice, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with twist of lemon peel (or, if you’re using the OJ, orange peel).

• 12 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup superfine sugar
• 3 pints bourbon
• 12 ounces dark rum
• 12 ounces peach brandy
• 3 pints milk
• 1 pint whipped cream

Preparation:

Beat yolks in a kitchen bowl for 30 minutes. (An electric mixer is a good reprieve.) Add the sugar gradually, with no letup. Then, shot by shot, pour in the three liquors, followed by the milk. Last of all, toss in the whipped cream.

• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• lemon peel
• 1/2 ounce brandy
• expresso

Preparation:

In a shot glass, muddle the sugar and a 1-inch twist of lemon peel in the brandy. Top up with espresso, as strong, dark, and hot as you can make it.

• 2 ounces brandy
• 2/3 ounce orange curacao
• 1 dash orange bitters

Preparation:

Shake the brandy, orange curaçao (you can use less — it’s a matter of individual taste), and bitters well with cracked ice, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

• 1 cup superfine sugar
• 1 cup lemon juice
• 1 quart and 1 cup water
• 4 ounces dark rum
• 1 1/2 cups brandy
• 1 bottle Brut champagne

Preparation:

Dissolve the sugar in the lemon juice and water, pour in the rum and brandy, and let stand for half an hour or so in a cool place for interjubilation to occur. When serving time is at hand, pour in the champagne, load the bowl with a cannonball of ice, and charge!

• 2 ounces dry apricot brandy
• 2/3 ounce lime juice

Preparation:

Shake well with cracked ice, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass .

Preparation:

Pour brandy into a Collins glass holding 2 or 3 ice cubes and top up with soda. That’s all there is to it. Use a well-grade French brandy, one of the cheaper cognacs, or just about any Spanish brandy, but save the pricey stuff for your

B2C2

Recipes:
• 1 1/2 ounces brandy
• 1 1/2 ounces Benedictine
• 1 1/2 ounces Cointreau
• 4-6 ounces Brut champagne

Preparation:

Combine the brandy,* Bénédictine, and Cointreau in an Old-Fashioned glass. Top off with room-temperature brut champagne. That’s the original formula. We found it much, much improved by cutting the liquor back to a still-hefty 1 ounce of each and — this is key — stirring them together briskly with cracked ice before straining them into a chilled glass. The champagne should be cold, too — about 3-4 ounces will do. In either case, if you’re going to drink more than two of these, make sure your helmet is on; you’ll need it.