Amarula Brandy Alexander Cocktail

4.31 from 13 votes

The Amarula Brandy Alexander is a creamy, caramel after-dinner drink made with South Africa’s signature liqueur. This is a South African cocktail recipe you’ll want to add to your to-try list! 

The Amarula Brandy Alexander is a creamy, caramel after-dinner drink made with South Africa's signature liqueur. This is a South African cocktail recipe you'll want to add to your to-try list! (via feastandwest.com)

Ever since I started sharing cocktails on Feast + West (which was pretty much the same time I started the blog, to be honest) I’ve wanted to share drink recipes that are inspired by places I’ve been.

I think I’ve stayed pretty true to that for the most part.

For example, there’s the Cuba Libre with Homemade Cola Syrup inspired by a fancy rum & coke I tried in the Outer Banks.

There’s the Blood Orange Daiquiri I recreated from a trip to New Orleans.

And then there’s the Cheerwine Bourbon Slushies I fell in love with in Asheville and just had to make at home.

The Amarula Brandy Alexander is a creamy, caramel after-dinner drink made with South Africa's signature liqueur. This is a South African cocktail recipe you'll want to add to your to-try list! (via feastandwest.com)

But there’s one place I’ve visited a lot that seems to have missed my cocktail rounds: South Africa.

If you’ve been reading here a long time, you’ll know that my mother is South African.

I’ve been a number of times to visit my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and even my sister lived there for a time.

The Amarula Brandy Alexander is a creamy, caramel after-dinner drink made with South Africa's signature liqueur. This is a South African cocktail recipe you'll want to add to your to-try list! (via feastandwest.com)

I’ve shared my mom’s recipes for Milk Tart and Pannekoek, two of my favorite South African recipes.

And yet somehow, I have no South African cocktail recipes on my site?!

Today I step up my game and raise you the Amarula Brandy Alexander cocktail.

South Africans aren’t huge cocktail people. They’ll have a spritzer of sorts before a meal, and most meals are enjoyed with their specialty — wine.

After dinner or with dessert is a nightcap, usually a creamy liqueur like Bailey’s or Amarula, neat or on the rocks.

The Amarula Brandy Alexander is a creamy, caramel after-dinner drink made with South Africa's signature liqueur. This is a South African cocktail recipe you'll want to add to your to-try list! (via feastandwest.com)

Amarula is a cream liqueur made from cream, brandy and the Marula fruit.

There’s an elephant on the label to honor the animal’s love for this fruit. Once a year when the Marula trees’ yellow fruit is ripe, the elephants travel for miles to get a taste.

The liqueur has a slightly fruity caramel flavor, and it’s wonderful to sip on its own.

I almost always have a bottle of Amarula in our sideboard for just that reason, but it makes a great cocktail, too.

Take this Amarula Brandy Alexander for one.

The Amarula Brandy Alexander is a creamy, caramel after-dinner drink made with South Africa's signature liqueur. This is a South African cocktail recipe you'll want to add to your to-try list! (via feastandwest.com)

An artist I love, Feist, has a song of the same name. Brandy Alexander has a catchy tune, and at some point I Googled the lyrics to learn that a brandy alexander is actually a drink not a person!

I tried one a few years ago in a chichi cocktail bar in Raleigh and fell in love.

For this version I decided to sub Amarula for the crème de cacao that’s normally in a brandy alexander.

The result is a smooth, creamy South African cocktail with a hint of exotic, fruity caramel.

This after-dinner drink is totally worth snagging a bottle the next time you see it at the liquor store! // susannah

Two martini glasses filled with a creamy Brandy Alexander are placed on blue napkins against a white background.

Amarula Brandy Alexander

Yield: 2 cocktails
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
The Amarula Brandy Alexander is a South African cocktail recipe that’s perfect for enjoying with dessert or a nightcap after dinner!
4.31 from 13 votes
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ingredients

instructions

  • In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, combine brandy, Amarula and cream. Shake well.
  • Pour into two martini glasses. Top with a sprinkle of freshly grated nutmeg.

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nutrition information

Yield: 2 cocktails

amount per serving:

Serving: 3ounces Calories: 257kcal Carbohydrates: 8g Protein: 2g Fat: 14g Saturated Fat: 9g Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g Monounsaturated Fat: 3g Cholesterol: 32mg Sodium: 8mg Potassium: 29mg Fiber: 0.1g Sugar: 7g Vitamin A: 417IU Vitamin C: 0.2mg Calcium: 20mg Iron: 0.1mg
did you make this recipe?Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram with the hashtag #feastandwestrecipes!

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Comments

  1. Mark Shah says

    4 stars
    Very nice! Depending on your taste, try adding 1 ounce of sugar syrup and an organic free range egg yolk.

  2. Mark Shah says

    4 stars
    Very nice! Depending on your taste, try adding 1 ounce of sugar syrup and an organic free range egg yolk.

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