We don’t know the history of the Beautiful, but suspect it may have emerged sometime in the mid-20th century, alongside the similar French Connection cocktail its recipe is sometimes mixed up with.
It’s a delicious and simple two-ingredient cocktail, just cognac (or a good brandy) and Grand Marnier or a similar cognac-based orange liqueur.
In the colder months, we prefer it neat, and sometimes even like to heat the glass either with the warmth of our hands, or the steam from a glass of hot water.
