Alexander Cocktail No. 2

The Alexander #2, also known as the Brandy Alexander, is a darker, richer variation on the original Alexander cocktail, which called for gin instead of cognac. According to historian Barry Popik, this recipe likely made its debut at Rector's, which was New York's premier lobster palace before the Prohibition era. A bartender there named Troy Alexander invented this drink as a tribute to the white-clad Phoebe Snow, a fictitious personage used by the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Railroad companies to market a clean-burning variety of coal called anthracite. Don't be afraid to ask the bartender to go easy on the sweet stuff here. Cognac, being sweeter than gin, doesn't need as much support from the crème de cacao.