Brandy Sour

A primarily after-dinner spirit made from distilling wine. Generally containing 35-60% ABV and generally aged in wooden casks. Cognac is a famous example of a brandy (produced in the Cognac region of France).

The most common fruit juice used in cocktails. This citrus juice is about 6% acid; pure citric acid. Lemon juice should be used the day it is squeezed, some like it freshly squeezed and others like it a few hours old.

Granulated sugar is a sucrose formed with glucose and fructose join by covalent bonding. Sugar is soluble in water, increasing the surface area (smaller grain size) or heating the water, dissolves sugar faster. Some cocktails use sugar directly but more use it indirectly in syrups/liqueurs.

An orange colored citrus fruit. Many types of orange make an appearance in cocktails. The peel and juice are equally valuable to diverse cocktails.

In cocktails, cherries are sweetened in a brine, like maraschino cherries (marr-ə-SKEE-noh) or in brandy, like brandied cherries. They are usually used as a garnish, muddled into the cocktail, or used simple for their sweetened brine.