The Brandy Crusta

The Brandy Crusta essentially gave way to every Sours cocktail that followed by being the first of its kind to include citrus juice. In the 1850’s, Joseph Santini crafted the Brandy Crusta at The Jewel of the South – the bar at the New Orleans City Exchange – mixing Brandy, sweeteners, and lemon juice.

His unique cocktail could also be seen as a direct precursor to many popular drinks like the Sidecar and the margarita. Santini and his ingenious, cutting-edge cocktails were immortalized in Jerry Thomas’s famous bartender’s manual How to Mix Drinks.

Making the Brandy Crusta

Based on Joseph Santini via Jerry Thomas (HOW TO MIX DRINKS, 1862)

Ingredients:

1 wine-glass brandy (2 ounces Cognac)
1-2 dashes curaçao (¼ teaspoon Grand Marnier or Ferrand Dry Curaçao)
3-4 dashes gum syrup (½ teaspoon simple syrup)
1 dash (¼ teaspoon) lemon juice
2 dashes Boker’s bitters (Angostura, Bittercube Bolivar)
lemon peel

Directions:

Wet the rim of a small wineglass with a lemon wedge and coat the outer rim with superfine sugar.
Line the glass with the thin-pared peel of half a lemon, peeled in a single, wide strip.
Stir ingredients with ice until well chilled, then strain into the lemon-lined serving glass.

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You can be ready to bartend in just three weeks. Be around fun people and have cash in your pocket every night as a mixologist, or claim your place in the ever-growing casino gaming industry in as little as three months. Financial aid is available, if qualified. You can start one of Crescent's top-quality programs with no money down.

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