The Birth of the Brandy Sour

Touted as Cyprus' national cocktail, a brandy sour goes down perfectly after a day on the beach. Its origins are pretty impressive, too. The young King Farouk of Egypt was a regular visitor to Cyprus in the '30s, usually staying at the Forest Park Hotel in Platres.

A Western-educated and worldly royal, Farouk was not averse to the odd tipple. Before a meeting with a delegation of Cypriot and foreign VIPs, he had his aide ask the hotel's head barman to whip up a cocktail that looked like iced tea, not wishing to cause a scene by appearing to drink alcohol in public (as he was Muslim).

The barman mixed two parts of fine Cypriot brandy with one part of fine lemon squash. Adding two drops of Angostura bitters, he poured it all over ice cubes, and topped it up with soda water. A slice of lemon completed the illusion. The king got his drink, his guests were none the wiser and the Cypriot brandy sour was born.

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Basic Greek

In all the following, 'e' is read as in 'egg' and 'th' is read as in 'this'. The emphasis in pronunciation falls on the syllable which is in bold...

Thank you - Efharisto
Do you speak English? - Milate Anglika?
How much is it? - Poso kanei?
I want a drink - Thelo ena poto
Do you love me? - M' agapas?