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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
Amarula Brandy Alexander
ingredients
- 2 ounces brandy
- 2 ounces Amarula liqueur
- 2 ounces heavy cream
- 1 pinch ground nutmeg preferably freshly grated
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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Mark Shah says
Very nice! Depending on your taste, try adding 1 ounce of sugar syrup and an organic free range egg yolk.
Gisele Cotton says
I loved Mark Shah’s version, that made it a 5 star – excellent suggestion though
Mark Shah says
Very nice! Depending on your taste, try adding 1 ounce of sugar syrup and an organic free range egg yolk.
Susannah says
Thanks for the tip, Mark! I will definitely give that a try next time.
Gisele Cotton says
I loved Mark Shah’s version, that made it a 5 star – excellent suggestion though
Susannah says
Thanks so much, Gisele! I’ll definitely try that.