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Cocktail History
The Suffragette is a brandy cocktail that was included in The Official Downton Abbey Cocktail Book: Appropriate Libations for All Occasions by Lou Bustamante. Although several drinks of the same name already exist, this one is essentially a variation of the Sidecar that swaps out orange liqueur for white crème de cacao. It was named for the brave women who fought so hard to vote one hundred years ago according to the book, which is why we chose to share it on Inauguration Day in celebration of Kamala Harris becoming the first female Vice President of the United States.
Cocktail Ingredients
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:
Cognac: This is the base spirit. It’s a type of brandy made from distilled white wine in Cognac, France. We used Courvoisier VSOP Cognac because it has a rich mouthfeel and a delightful brandy spice with notes of peach, almond, and cinnamon. For a mocktail version of this drink, try Escape Mocktails Non-Alcoholic Cognac Alternative in place of the brandy.
White Crème De Cacao: This is a chocolate liqueur that adds light cocoa notes. We used one of these made by DeKuyper.
Lemon Juice: This adds sour citrus flavors for balance. We prefer to use fresh citrus juice because it’s less bitter than the bottled stuff and tastes better.
Sugar: This is added to the rim of the drink to sweeten the cocktail as you sip.
Lemon Wedge: This is the garnish. It adds more fresh lemon aroma and flavor.
Tasting Notes
The Suffragette features brandy and citrus aromas, the initial sweet taste of the sugar followed by brandy and citrus, and light notes of chocolate on the swallow.
Our Opinion of This Cocktail Recipe: When we made The Suffragette, we actually substituted the Cognac for Armagnac, and even with that change, it was brighter and more citrusy than we expected—not sweet at all but still delicious to both of our very different palates.
Recipe
This cocktail recipe was adapted from The Official Downton Abbey Cocktail Book: Appropriate Libations for All Occasions by Lou Bustamante.
AuthorThe Official Downton Abbey Cocktail BookPrep Time5 minsPour sugar onto a plate, rub outer rim of glass with lemon wedge, and roll glass in sugar until coated.
Add brandy, white crème de cacao, lemon juice, and ice to a shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Strain into a sugar-rimmed cocktail glass.
Ingredients
Directions
Pour sugar onto a plate, rub outer rim of glass with lemon wedge, and roll glass in sugar until coated.
Add brandy, white crème de cacao, lemon juice, and ice to a shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Strain into a sugar-rimmed cocktail glass.
Tools & Glassware We Recommend
More Brandy Cocktails
If you like this brandy-based cocktail recipe, here are a few others we’ve tried that you may enjoy:
• French Toast Flip: An Oloroso sherry, Scotch, and apple brandy cocktail made with maple syrup, allspice syrup, egg white, egg yolk, orange and fig bitters, and ground cinnamon
• Cold Brew Brandy Alexander: A brandy cocktail made with cold-brew coffee liqueur, dark crème de cacao, heavy cream, and coffee beans
• Enchantress: A brandy cocktail made with ruby port wine, orange curaçao, lemon juice, and a lemon peel
• Elephants Sometimes Forget: A cherry brandy and gin cocktail made with lemon juice, dry vermouth, orange bitters, amaretto liqueur, and a lemon twist
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