Stinger Recipe

We Still Have More to Say About the Stinger

Although a bit of mint mixed with Cognac may sound strange, the combination actually works very well. There are some candy and fruit elements to Cognac that actually welcome a little bit of minty flavour. Sweet and mint do go together after all. But if you’re a person who simply doesn’t like mint (and we know there a few out there), you’re probably looking at this cocktail in horror, especially if you really like Cognac! We think the Stinger would go better with a Cognac on the sweeter side of thing, but that’s just our opinion. For people who really like Cognac and like to experiment with it, perhaps try this recipe with a few different brands to see how you like it best.

Can multiple Stingers be made at once?

The Stinger is an easy cocktail to scale up, just add extra ingredients to your mixing glass. Don’t overdo it though, otherwise you’ll have trouble getting everything cold quickly.

That being said, feel free to make as many Stingers as you can fit in your mixing glass and easily pour. Just make sure there’s plenty of ice!

Will a Stinger keep in the refrigerator to serve later?

This would work. If you mix up this cocktail and want to drink it later, it should be fine in the fridge for any amount of time. Just make sure to not store it with ice, otherwise the ice will melt and you’ll wind up with an overdiluted drink.

When’s the best time to have a Stinger?

Depending on who you ask and the type of Cognac, it can be served both as an apéritif and a digestif. So (again, depending on who you ask!), Cognac is suitable either before or after dinner, or both. Given the Creme de Menthe in the recipe though, we would reserve a Stinger for after eating. Mint flavours tend to stick in your mouth, so we’d go as far as to say that the Stinger should be the last drink of the night (unless you intend to have more than one of course). In a lot of ways this is a dessert cocktail at its finest. Dessert cocktails can often be a little creamier or more involved. The Stinger though keeps it simple. This is nice because that means it’s easy to make. No one wants to take a lot of time to make a drink when they’d rather be relaxing after a meal!

Is the Stinger a strong cocktail?

It’s a little bit strong, yes. The recipe calls for an ample pour of Cognac, which is usually about 40% alcohol by volume and then some Creme de Menthe which is usually about 25-30% alcohol by volume. That’s a decent amount of alcohol without anything to dilute it. A lot of other cocktails with this much base spirit (in this case the Cognac) either forgo further ingredients with alcohol in them or go to dilute them; if they want to add other alcoholic ingredients then they don’t add as much base. This simply doesn’t happen with the Stinger! But don’t worry too much. The Stinger is intended to be sipped and drunk slowly. Take your time.

What music would you put with the Stinger?

Cognac is a pretty sophisticated spirit. It’s know for being relatively expensive so is not always the most accessible of spirits out there.

Interestingly, while researching the ingredients in the Stinger, we stumbled upon the fact that Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff usually didn’t drink alcohol. However, he would often get nervous playing the twenty-fourth variation of his Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, which was particularly difficult. To calm his nerves, despite not being an alcohol drinker, Rachmaninoff would have a glass of Creme de Menthe. We hope this story is true because it’s quite a bit of fun!

Assuming the Rachmaninoff story is true, we’re going to put the Stinger together with Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. While Rachmaninoff reportedly preferred his Creme de Menthe on its own, perhaps we could convince him to try a Stinger as well.