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The Unforgettables IBA Official IBA

Alexander

Boozy chocolate milkshake

Glass Cocktail glass
Method Shaken
Garnish Freshly Grated Nutmeg

A velvety, dessert-like cocktail where cognac warmth meets rich cocoa and cream. Dangerously smooth — it drinks like a boozy milkshake with sophistication.

Ingredients

Method

Pour all ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously until well-chilled. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.

Documented in Hugo Ensslin's Recipes for Mixed Drinks, 1916 (originally gin-based). Two origin stories exist per Difford's Guide: a 1915 Philadelphia Inquirer article about a bartender at The Racquet Club creating the drink to honor pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander during the World Series, and a 1929 account where columnist Walter Winchell reported that Troy Alexander, a bartender at pre-Prohibition restaurant Rector's, created the cocktail for a dinner celebrating a successful advertising campaign. Per Difford's Guide #35 and the IBA's Unforgettables list. Notes: contemporary versions (IBA and BN) use cognac rather than Ensslin's original gin.

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