unforgettable · shaken
Brandy Crusta recipe
Cognac, maraschino and curaçao with lemon, in a sugar-crusted glass.
A Brandy Crusta is 52.5 ml (49.3 g) Cognac, 15 ml (15.5 g) Fresh Lemon Juice, 7.5 ml (7.8 g) Maraschino, 7.5 ml (7.4 g) Curaçao, 5 ml (6.4 g) Rich Syrup and 1 ml (1 g) Aromatic Bitters, shaken and served in a coupe. It pours to about 88.5 ml before ice, at roughly 29.5% ABV. Weighing the ingredients instead of measuring them is what keeps the balance identical from one round to the next.
- Glasscoupe
- Methodshaken
- Pour volume88.5 ml
- Strength (est.)29.5% ABV
- Time6 min
Brandy Crusta ingredients — in millilitres and grams
Grams are what the PourPilot coaster actually targets. They are not the same as the millilitres: a spirit is lighter than water, a syrup is heavier, so 30 ml of one is never 30 g. The right-hand column is the density we use, in grams per millilitre.
| Ingredient | Volume | Weight | g/ml | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cognac | 52.5 ml | 49.3 g | 0.94 | Weighed by the coaster |
| Fresh Lemon Juice | 15 ml | 15.5 g | 1.03 | Weighed by the coaster |
| Maraschino | 7.5 ml | 7.8 g | 1.04 | Weighed by the coaster |
| Curaçao | 7.5 ml | 7.4 g | 0.98 | Weighed by the coaster |
| Rich Syrup | 5 ml | 6.4 g | 1.27 | Weighed by the coaster |
| Aromatic Bitters | 1 ml | — | 0.98 | 2 dashes; sugar-rimmed glass |
How to make a Brandy Crusta
- Set your coupe on the scale (or on the PourPilot coaster) and zero it. Every measurement below is given in millilitres and in grams, so you can use either.
- Add Cognac, Fresh Lemon Juice, Maraschino, Curaçao, Rich Syrup and Aromatic Bitters to a shaker, weighing each ingredient rather than eyeballing a jigger.
- Fill with ice and shake hard for 12–15 seconds.
- Double-strain into a chilled coupe.
Brandy Crusta: the questions people actually ask
How strong is a Brandy Crusta?
Roughly 29.5% ABV as poured, before the ice dilutes it — typically another 15–25% water by the time you finish stirring or shaking. Strong. This is a stirred, undiluted-style drink — one is a full measure.
What glass should a Brandy Crusta be served in?
A coupe. Chill it first — a room-temperature stemmed glass will undo half the work you just did in the mixing tin.
Can I make a Brandy Crusta without a jigger?
Yes — that is what the gram column is for. Put the glass or tin on a kitchen scale, zero it, and pour to the weight. It is more accurate than a jigger because nothing is left clinging to the inside of the measure. The PourPilot coaster does the same thing without you having to watch a display: it lights up as you approach the target and tells you when to stop.
Why are some ingredients not weighed?
Dashes of bitters and rinses are too small to weigh reliably — a dash is roughly 0.8 ml, well inside the noise of any bar scale. Count them instead. Everything else in this Brandy Crusta is weighed.
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