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!

About Susannah

Susannah Brinkley Henry is the founder of Feast + West, a cocktail blog featuring creative, budget-friendly drinks and hosting ideas. A graphic designer with bartending school training, she shares cocktails, mocktails, appetizers and desserts for easy, stylish entertaining. Her work has been featured by Southern Living, Buzzfeed, The Huffington Post and Mashable, and she was a finalist in the Saveur Blog Awards. Susannah is also a publisher on MSN and has appeared on local news segments sharing seasonal drinks. She lives in Charlotte, N.C., where she brings Southern charm and global inspiration to every pour. Read more.

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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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