# Does brandy ever taste good? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 10, 2002, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brandy-ever-taste-good/141848 "2002-12-10T21:11:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dorkusmalorkusmafia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorkusmalorkusmafia/32/7266_2.png) [@dorkusmalorkusmafia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorkusmalorkusmafia)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brandy-ever-taste-good/141848/1 "2002-12-10T21:11:37Z")
I picked up some semi expensive brandy a few weeks ago seeing how it always looked so pretty in those brandy snifter glasses. Blech! How do people stomach it? Can you mix it with anything to make it taste better? Are they any forms of mixed drinks that it traditionally used in. It reminds me of turpentine how it is. The problem is that I spent 40 bucks on it and don’t want it to go to waste. If I was less scrupelous I would hand it out to the evil devil children who live across the street, but of course that will never happen. So, what recipes can I use brandy in? Desserts, entrees, mixed drinks are all encouraged. ---
**Author:** ![bafaa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e480ec/32.png) [@bafaa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bafaa)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brandy-ever-taste-good/141848/2 "2002-12-10T21:25:13Z")
Mix it with an equal amount of anisette. Then light up a cigar and play some Sinatra. 🆒 In Spain we call that a “[sol y sombra](http://www.webtender.com/db/drink/849) .” ---
**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brandy-ever-taste-good/141848/3 "2002-12-10T21:29:54Z")
How about a brandy alexander? 1 shot brandy 1 shot half and half and 1 shot dark cocoa liquior. Put in ice, and mmmmmm… ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brandy-ever-taste-good/141848/4 "2002-12-10T21:43:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Meatros \* > \*\*How about a brandy alexander? > > 1 shot brandy > 1 shot half and half > and 1 shot dark cocoa liquior. > > Put in ice, and mmmmmm… \*\* Tastes like an iced coffee…not too bad! ---
**Author:** ![dorkusmalorkusmafia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorkusmalorkusmafia/32/7266_2.png) [@dorkusmalorkusmafia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorkusmalorkusmafia)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brandy-ever-taste-good/141848/5 "2002-12-10T21:55:01Z")
Hmmm. Some of those sound ok. The brandy alexander sounds a lot like a White Russian which to me tastes like iced coffee too. So in theory, can I use it much like I would use vodka? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brandy-ever-taste-good/141848/6 "2002-12-10T22:09:53Z")
I’m with ya. A bartender friend poured me a snifter of Napoleon (?) Brandy once… $80.00 a shot. It was like lighter fluid. ---
**Author:** ![dorkusmalorkusmafia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorkusmalorkusmafia/32/7266_2.png) [@dorkusmalorkusmafia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorkusmalorkusmafia)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brandy-ever-taste-good/141848/7 "2002-12-10T22:13:47Z")
(alcoholic sacrilege)Blech, I think I will be mixing it with koolaid or something. (/alcoholic scarilege) Now it sounds a bit better. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brandy-ever-taste-good/141848/8 "2002-12-10T22:23:45Z")
I don’t know your age, but that might have something to do with it. Real cognac is an acquired taste. For me, it was not so much that I was myself to drink it. It was more that it was offered at dinners and what have you and gradually over the years, I learned to enjoy it. Brandy/Cognac is made from destilled wine (basically). There are a lot of diferent types. Problem is - for it to be enjoyable, it should be real cognac (from France, you know) and the pricier stuff. That thing about age: When I was 20 and trying desperateley to be cool, smoking camel, no filters, wearing a black turtle neck, studying movie science and theatre at college (just so you know what a dork I was), I tried to drink Dry Martini. Bleh. Feh. Yuck. It looked so cool, them glasses, the olive, all the myths in all the mvoes and books. But yuck. I got to like it when I was about 35. So I’m not giving up on you yet. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![mogiaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mogiaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mogiaw)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brandy-ever-taste-good/141848/9 "2002-12-10T22:27:52Z")
Brandy is grrrrrrrreat after 7 pints of cider, 4 double whiskey and cokes and several cheapo beers. Take my word for it. Mogiaw ---
**Author:** ![UWmite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UWmite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UWmite)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brandy-ever-taste-good/141848/10 "2002-12-10T22:37:26Z")
I’m trying to acquire my taste for brandy, but for now the only way I can drink it is to mix it with apple juice. Man, that’s yummy. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brandy-ever-taste-good/141848/11 "2002-12-10T23:18:26Z")
I know a girl named Brandy. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brandy-ever-taste-good/141848/12 "2002-12-10T23:25:53Z")
Try a hot brandy toddy. Rub a good-sized section of lemon peel all over the rim of a coffee mug, and put the peel in the mug with two teaspoons of sugar. Munch the peel and sugar around a bit with the end of a teaspoon. Add a good jigger or two of brandy, and then add boiling water to your taste. Give it a good stir to dissolve the sugar. Mmmm-mm. As an added bonus, if you have a bad head cold, a hot toddy is good for what ails you. ---
**Author:** ![Eats\_Crayons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/278dde/32.png) [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brandy-ever-taste-good/141848/13 "2002-12-11T00:10:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Gaspode \* > **I don’t know your age, but that might have something to do with it. Real cognac is an acquired taste. For me, it was not so much that I was myself to drink it. It was more that it was offered at dinners and what have you and gradually over the years, I learned to enjoy it. > Brandy/Cognac is made from destilled wine (basically). There are a lot of diferent types. Problem is - for it to be enjoyable, it should be real cognac (from France, you know) and the pricier stuff.** I agree, it’s an acquired taste. Like dry sherry. V.S.O.P. brandy is fine, but once you have real cognac, you’ll never go back… Once you’ve acquired the taste, that is. A snifter of brandy typically lasts me over an hour. It’s something you should allow to warm up in your hands and that you should sip sparingly. But, until you learn to appreciate it, a brandy alexander is fairly yummy. ---
**Author:** ![Raymond\_Luxury\_Yacht](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raymond_luxury_yacht/32/4099_2.png) [@Raymond\_Luxury\_Yacht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raymond_Luxury_Yacht)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brandy-ever-taste-good/141848/14 "2002-12-11T00:21:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by NoClueBoy \* > \*\*I know a girl named Brandy. \*\* What a good wife she would be! ---
**Author:** ![Raymond\_Luxury\_Yacht](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raymond_luxury_yacht/32/4099_2.png) [@Raymond\_Luxury\_Yacht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raymond_Luxury_Yacht)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brandy-ever-taste-good/141848/15 "2002-12-11T00:23:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Meatros \* > \*\*How about a brandy alexander? > > 1 shot brandy > 1 shot half and half > and 1 shot dark cocoa liquior. > > Put in ice, and mmmmmm… \*\* Sub the half and half with vanilla ice cream. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brandy-ever-taste-good/141848/16 "2002-12-11T00:25:29Z")
Nobody mentioned adding the brandy to coffee? ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brandy-ever-taste-good/141848/17 "2002-12-11T01:25:08Z")
No. No, there’s no way that fine brandy can taste good. It’s all been a plot, over hundreds of years, by the French and large gouty wealthy Englishmen sitting in private London clubs. Mail me your unused Cognacs and Armagnacs. I’ll make sure it’s disposed of properly. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brandy-ever-taste-good/141848/18 "2002-12-11T01:28:58Z")
mmmmmmm Brandy…mmmmmm Cognac even better and I’ll put in a plug for mmmmm B&B. My mother mixes cheap Christian Brothers with Coke. That’s what I learned to drink. ---
**Author:** ![I\_am\_Sparticus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@I\_am\_Sparticus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_am_Sparticus)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brandy-ever-taste-good/141848/19 "2002-12-11T01:37:31Z")
Try warming over a candle just a little bit, and sip it slowly. ---
**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brandy-ever-taste-good/141848/20 "2002-12-11T02:44:56Z")
I’ve tried, my GAWD have I tried, to like fine brandies and scotches. While my efforts to acclimate my palate have succeeded my stomach has, unfortunately - FORCEFULLY!! - failed to go along with the plan. In other words, shots and/or straight liquor + chique’s stomach = projectile vomiting. So. When I found myself with a fifth of Courvosier I made this: \ \ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-brandy-ever-taste-good/141848.md?page=2)