🥤 DRINK
Cypriot Brandy Sour
Cypriot brandy, lemon cordial and a few drops of Angostura bitters, topped with soda over ice in a tall sugar-rimmed glass: the island's unofficial national cocktail.
Cypriot · easy · serves 1
prep 5 min · cook 0 min
~184 cal · 1g protein · 20g carbs · 0g fat · 2g fiber · 15g sugars · 0g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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AI-generated illustration
The brandy sour is the unofficial national cocktail of Cyprus, and it looks nothing like the frothy, egg-white sours of other countries. It is a long, tall drink: Cypriot brandy and lemon, a few drops of bitters, topped up with soda water and plenty of ice.
It grew out of Cyprus's own brandy. The first blended brandy made on the island appeared in the early 1930s, and the cocktail is said to have been created soon after at the Forest Park Hotel in the hill resort of Platres, by a barman named Sourmelis, for the young King Farouk of Egypt. The story is doubted, since Farouk did not drink alcohol, but the drink itself spread from the hill resorts across the island.
Cypriot brandy is milder than Cognac or Armagnac, and the lemon traditionally comes as lemon squash, a concentrated cordial made from the island's sharp lemons, which gives both sourness and a little bitterness. Soda keeps it dry; lemonade makes a sweeter version.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian, vegan and gluten-, dairy-, egg-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 1
- 50 ml Cypriot brandyHard to find? a light, young brandy - Cypriot brandy is milder than Cognac, so choose something mellow
- 25 ml Cypriot lemon cordial, sold in Cyprus as lemon squashHard to find? 25 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice sweetened with a little sugar syrup - fresher and sharper, without the slight bitterness of the cordial
- 2 to 4 dashes Angostura bitters
- to top up soda water, or lemonade for a sweeter drink
- to fill the glass ice
- 1 tbsp sugar, for the rim
- 1 lemon slice
Instructions
- 1Run the lemon slice around the rim of a tall glass, then dip the rim in sugar.
- 2Fill the glass with ice cubes, right to the top.
- 3Add the bitters, then the brandy, then the lemon cordial, and stir well.
- 4Top up with soda water, stir gently once more and tuck the lemon slice into the glass. Serve at once.✎ Chef’s noteTwo parts brandy to one part lemon cordial is the classic balance. Soda keeps it dry and lets the brandy show; lemonade makes it sweeter.
Cypriot hotel-bar tradition, Platres.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Nicosia. The spice that marks Cypriot cooking is coriander seed rather than the leaf, crushed into afelia of pork cooked in red wine, into loukaniko sausages, into lountza, and into olives cracked and dressed with lemon. It is the flavour Cypriots themselves name as the island's own.
🗺️
Cyprus. Halloumi holds EU protected designation of origin status, which fixes what it can be made from and where. Souvla is not souvlaki: large pieces of meat on a long skewer turned slowly over charcoal for hours, which is a Sunday and a family affair rather than something bought at a counter.
🌍
Europe. A surprising amount of European cooking is under five hundred years old. Tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, maize, beans and chocolate all crossed from the Americas after 1492, and none of them was trusted quickly: the potato took most of the eighteenth century to be accepted as food rather than animal fodder across much of the north.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Cyprus
SheftaliaHerby caul-wrapped sausages of pork and onion, charcoal-grilled and tucked into pita with salad.
Halloumi and EggsSlices of grilled halloumi with fried eggs and fresh tomato, the classic Cypriot breakfast.
KoupesTorpedo-shaped bulgur shells stuffed with spiced minced meat and onion, fried crisp, a favorite Cypriot snack-lunch.
Browse all Cyprus recipes →
Good to know
Storing it: Keep chilled and covered, and enjoy within 2 to 3 days.
Make it a Cyprus meal
KleftikoDinner
LoukoumadesDessert
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Frequently asked questions
What is Cypriot Brandy Sour?
Cypriot brandy, lemon cordial and a few drops of Angostura bitters, topped with soda over ice in a tall sugar-rimmed glass: the island's unofficial national cocktail.
Where does Cypriot Brandy Sour come from?
Cypriot Brandy Sour is a Cypriot dish from Nicosia, Cyprus.
Can Cypriot Brandy Sour be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Cypriot Brandy Sour recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Cypriot Brandy Sour safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Cypriot Brandy Sour take to make?
About 5 minutes total (5 minutes prep, 0 minutes cooking), serving 1.
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