Alexandra

Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh, 1945

1 oz. gin or rum

2 oz. crème de cacao

2 oz. coffee liqueur

4 oz. crème fraîche

Place all of the ingredients in cocktail shaker, fill it two-thirds of the way with ice, and shake until chilled.

Strain into a cocktail glass and enjoy.

At the George bar he ordered “Four Alexandra cocktails, please,” ranged them before him with a loud “Yum-yum” which drew every eye, outraged, upon him. “I expect you would prefer sherry, but, my dear Charles, you are not going to have sherry. Isn’t this a delicious concoction? You don’t like it? Then I will drink it for you.”

Protagonist Charles Ryder, while studying at Oxford, finds himself periodically in the company of self-proclaimed aesthete Anthony Blanche. On this occasion, Blanche makes a bit of a spectacle of himself while threatening to down all of the alcohol set before him.

The drink in question is the Alexandra, related to the Alexander Cocktail and the Brandy Alexander. Usually consisting of cream, gin or rum, crème de cacao, and coffee liqueur, it is quite decadent and rich. Knocking back four of them would be quite the feat, and probably inadvisable!