Brandy Cobbler

According to Jerry Thomas circa 1862, a cobbler—a class of drink all its own—is a simply a spirit or wine sweetened with sugar and fresh fruit, and served over ice. Most early versions used wine as a base spirit, but eventually cobblers of all different sorts began cropping up in American bars. Dale DeGroff is generally credited with standardizing the additional step of muddling the fruits and spirits, making for an exceptionally fresh-tasting drink. These cocktails are fairly flexible as far as ingredients go, so always opt for something seasonal. The Fruit is largely responsible for the flavor here, so the riper, the better. Mr. Thomas actually calls for a whopping four ounces in base spirit in his cobbler recipe, but most people knock it down an ounce or two if only for the pleasure of enjoying more than one.