Brandy and Coke, done properly
South Africa's drink deserves better than a warm glass and a guess. The proper brandy and Coke, step by step, and why the brandy matters more than you think.
Brandy and Coke is South Africa's drink. It gets poured at every braai, every match, every family thing, and most of the time it gets poured badly. Warm glass, flat cola, brandy chosen by price alone. The drink deserves better, and so do you.
The rules
Cold everything. The glass from the freezer if you can manage it, the cola from the fridge, never the pantry. Ice first, more than feels polite. Brandy in before the cola so the pour mixes itself. Cola down the side of the glass, slowly, so the bubbles survive. Stir once. Once.
The ratio
One part brandy to two and a half parts cola. Stronger and you lose the refreshment, weaker and you are drinking cola with regrets. Fifty millilitres of brandy to about 120 of cola in a tall glass full of ice is the pour we stand behind.
Why the brandy matters
Cola is loud. A thin brandy disappears under it, which is why so many brandy and Cokes taste like sweet nothing. A brandy with three years in oak and a French cask finish holds its shape: you taste caramel and dried fruit through the cola instead of just sugar. That is the whole argument for pouring something better into the national drink.
If the fridge is doing the work tonight, our Brandy and Cola comes pre-mixed in a can, cold and ready. Same brandy, collar loosened.