The National Cocktail
A mixture of brandy and cordial made from the most organic lemons of the Güzelyurt region, Brandy Sour is a local favourite.
An exclusively Cypriot concoction, locals love their Brandy Sour which has come to be regarded as something of a national cocktail.
The cocktail is made with Cypriot brandy which is milder than Cognac or Armagnac, lemons fresh or cordial, Angostura bitters, soda water and ice.
Bitter lemons are used locally to produce a bitter-sweet lemon cordial, which forms the sour and bitter base for the Brandy Sour cocktail – the same lemons that were used by British author Lawrence Durrell, for the title for his autobiographical novel Bitter Lemons of Cyprus, written next to Bellapais Abbey in the 1950’s.
Although this drink is also enjoyed in other parts of the world, the Cypriot version is unique for the local brandy used as well as its unique initiation – it was introduced in the 1930’s in an old hotel in the Trodos Mountains, as an alcoholic substitute for iced tea, as a way of disguising the preference for Western-style cocktails of their distinguished guest, King Farouk of Egypt.
As well as enjoying it during your visit to the island, why not pick up a few bottles of Cypriot brandy and try making it back home.