Columbia

There's little of South America about this cocktail. Rather, I choose to see it as a drink honoring the discovery of the New World, if not Washington D.C., which I'm pretty sure it is not for the latter.

Therefore, American brandy was called for. I appreciate that this drink had some lemon acidity but vermouth and brandy kept things on the sweet and boozy side.

• 2 oz. brandy (Christian Brothers VSOP used)
• 1 oz. sweet vermouth (Cocchi di Torino used)
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. grenadine
• dash Angostura bitters

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. 

East India

A spicy and tropical brandy cocktail, the East India seems to hint at colonial drinks of the broader British Empire. Really, though, I think that it is a pre-tiki cocktail because of its use of triple sec, pineapple juice and Angostura bitters. This combination is really different and strikes the drinker as exotic, not at all colonial American. But of course, all of these ingredients would have been available in the Caribbean, though not so much in East India.

• 2 oz. brandy
• 3/4 oz. triple sec (Luxardo Triplum)
• 3/4 oz. pineapple juice
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters

 Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.