Brandy Lift

1½ oz brandy
½ oz Small Hand Foods Orgeat
½ oz Bénédictine
½ oz heavy cream
cold seltzer water

Shake all ingredients vigorously over ice and strain into a chilled fizz glass. Beat with a bar spoon while adding seltzer to the rim of the glass. Let stand for a minute to allow foam to firm, then slowly add more seltzer to “lift” the head above the rim of the glass.

Jennifer Colliau, 2011
I created this cocktail for the Imbibe Magazine fifth anniversary party at the second Portland Cocktail Week in 2011. There is no historical cocktail family that contains cream and soda but no egg, so I named it a “Lift” as if it was an actual category. Other bartenders have taken the formula and made their own Lifts, making it a modern cocktail family.