The Brandy Crusta was created by Joseph Santini around 1850 at the City Exchange in New Orleans. It was the first ever cocktail with lemon juice and is considered as the ancestor of the Sidecar. Leading bartenders often to substitute the Sidecar for the Crusta on their cocktail menu, in the hopes to keep the tasting profile while bridging to a more ancient period.

“The Crusta is an improvement on the Cocktail.”

Jerry Thomas - How to Mix Drinks (1862)

CURIOUS CRUSTA
CURIOUS CRUSTA

Original Recipe

  • 45 ml Martell VSOP
  • 20 ml lemon juice
  • 15 ml orange curaçao
  • 2 dashes of aromatic bitters
  • sugar rim, long lemon peel

Moisten the rim of the glass with lemon and dip it into fine powdered sugar. Pour all ingredients into the cocktail shaker. Shake well until the metal is frosted. Strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with a long lemon peel into the glass.

CURIOUS CRUSTA Twisted Recipe
CURIOUS CRUSTA

Twisted Recipe

By blending some natural black food-coloring powder (vegetable charcoal) with superfine sugar, bring an unusual black color to the 'crusta' on the rim of the glass. The original recipe is slightly modified:

  • 45 ml Martell VSOP
  • 15 ml of lemon juice
  • 10 ml of orange curaçao
  • 5 ml of yuzu juice
  • 5 ml of agave syrup
  • 2 dashes of aromatic bitters
  • lemon peel

This will add a touch of intense and tangy flavor thanks to the complexity of yuzu puree.