The classic Crusta is a cocktail with complex flavors made of spirit, fresh lemon juice, simple syrup, and aromatic bitters. The drink is served in a small tulip-shaped, stemmed glass with a sugar crust around the rim and an extra-large lemon peel garnish.
The taste of a Crusta cocktail is light and delicate, not too sour or sweet. You may use a top-shelf spirit base because the other flavors are not overpowering the base spirit with too much sweetness and citrus. That allows the finer qualities of a superior base spirit to shine through.
Even though only a few have tried a Crusta, the drink is an influential part of cocktail history. If you want, you can see it as a forerunner of today's Margarita cocktail. Let's learn more about the Crusta cocktail and its influence on cocktail history.
The Crusta Template
The formula of any Crusta is always the same: spirit, citrus juice, sweetener, and two dashes of Angostura bitters. That offers plenty of options to play with ingredients as the cocktail can be made with any liquor and sweetener.
The Crusta's Place in the Cocktail Family Tree
The world of drink and cocktails is organized in a family tree that links the most important groups of mixed drinks where a Fizz is a close relative to the Sour, the Julep a cousin of the Smash, and the Margarita a member of the Daisy drinks. Here is how the Crusta fits in:
The classic recipe of a Crusta is a twist on the Fancy cocktail. The key feature of said Fancy cocktails is not the recipe or the ingredients but the fancy garnish. The Crusta elevated the idea and had its signature style of garnishing.
The recipe template is closely related to other famous cocktail categories like sours. The main difference here is that sours lack bitters and the iconic garnish.
To sweeten the drink, you can use any type of syrup or a liqueur like Maraschino liqueur, triple sec, or others. Another drink that makes use of this is the Sidecar cocktail, which consists of cognac, lemon juice, and triple sec. That drink template lacks syrup, making the Sidecar more citrus-heavy and hence different from the Crusta.
This Sidecar recipe eventually became the forerunner of another cocktail family - the Daisy cocktails.
Historical Significance of the Crusta Cocktail
Crustas, like a respectable number of other classic cocktails, originate from New Orleans. What makes this extra special in that respect is that it is probably the first one of many that became famous.
The Brandy Crusta was first mixed in the 1850s by Italian bartender Joseph Santini. That makes it even older than the other New Orleans classics like the Ramos Gin Fizz, the Hurricane, and the Sazerac.
The Crusta cocktails are among the first drinks with a complex, signature way of presentation and garnish. Due to that, this type of drink outshone many others when it first appeared in 1862 in Jerry Thomas's "Bartender's Guide on How to Mix Drinks."
As with many cocktail recipes in the early days, you could easily swap the base spirit. No matter if whiskey, gin, or brandy - all of them were alright to use. But one of them quickly became somewhat of the leader of the Crustas - the Brandy Crusta.
Interestingly, the Crusta was almost forgotten until David Wondrich brought it back into modern bars when he included the Crusta cocktail in his 2007 book “Imbibe!.”
On a side note: a good Brandy Crusta strongly relies on a quality cognac. That and the perfect balance between brandy and citrus will lift your Brandy Crusta from good to great.
How to Make the Crusta Cocktail Garnish
The key visual element is the garnish of this cocktail recipe. Here is how to nail it:
The sugar crust
The Crustas cocktails stood out visually since Joseph Santini brought them to life. Before, there was no cocktail with a garnished rim at all.
So, that was the role model for one of the most iconic yet classic ways to decorate cocktail glasses. And the sugar crust is only the first part of the drink's garnish.
At least 3 -4 hours before mixing the drink, you need to moisten the rim of the glass with a lemon wedge and dip it in caster or superfine sugar. Let it dry thoroughly for the perfect, solid crust.
The Lemon Peel Garnish
The second part of this iconic garnish is the lemon peel - or, the lemon ring, to be precise. However, this traditional and proper way to garnish a Crusta cocktail is rarely executed in a correct way.
In most cases, a large and thick lemon peel is put inside a small wineglass so that it is just peeking out. -When you drink a Crusta garnished like that, you push the peel inside the glass before taking a sip. And that is different from the original way of garnishing.
If you do it the right way, you take a lemon that is just small enough to fit into a slim wine or sparkling wine glass. It has to sit really tight. Like that, it can work as an extension of the actual glass.
Then, you cut off the lower and upper parts of the lemon and remove the fruit pulp. What is left is a solid lemon ring that you can insert into your glass.
Put Everything Together
The lower part will be inside, and the upper part above the rim. When you drink now, your lips only touch the lemon, not the glass.
Add all ingredients to your cocktail shaker, add ice, and shake for 8-12 seconds. Strain the drink into your prepared glass.
The most important thing when drinking is that the lemon fits skin tight. When you drink your Crusta, no liquid should be dripping out. If you get this right: Congrats, you mastered one of the oldest and most iconic cocktail garnishes.
Variations
Historically, a Crusta can use any type of spirit as a base. In most cases, though, the classic cocktail is served with cognac in a Brandy Crusta. The most popular alternative to this recipe is based on whiskey, the Bourbon Crusta. Here are more variations on the traditional Brandy Crusta recipe:
- Gin Crusta: The variation based on gin works best with a rich and flavorful gin type. Choose a Genever or a Genever-style gin like Bobby's paired with lemon juice, gomme syrup, orange liqueur, and cardamom bitters.
- Rum Crusta: The recipe for making a Rum Crusta uses a light type of rum paired with Maraschino liqueur, lemon juice, and a few dashes of dry Curaçao.
- Bourbon Crusta: A delicious drink made with bourbon, triple sec, Maraschino liqueur, lemon juice, and orange bitters.
The Revival of the Brandy Crusta
In the early 2010s, the Crusta cocktail started a comeback in its hometown. It all started when Chris Hannah brought back the old drink on the menu of Arnaud's French 75 with a modern twist back in 2004.
Hannah refined the recipe and balanced proportions to match the modern palate, including a hint of Maraschino liqueur. Shaken and strained, the cocktail is served in a sugar-rimmed glass, staying true to its origins and history.
When David Wondrich's "Imbibe!" included the Crusta recipe, more and more bar managers started to put back the Crusta cocktails on bar menus.