Brace Up — The Cocktail Ontologist

Family

Sour Family — descendant

Variants (5)

The Complete Buffet Manual or How to Mix Fancy Drinks by J. E. Sheridan (1901, p.97)

2.5 dashes	lemon juice — Source gives 2 or 3 dashes.	acid
1 dash	lime juice	acid
0.5 glass	brandy — Source reads one-half glass of brandy.	base
1 tablespoonful	sugar — powdered sugar	base
3 dashes	Aromatic bitters — Angostura or Boker's bitters	bitter
	Soda water — Seltzer, Vichy or Apollinaris water	dilution
2 dashes	anisette — Anisette	modifier
1 egg	egg — fresh egg	other

Shake the sugar, bitters, citrus, anisette, egg, brandy, and shaved ice thoroughly.
Strain into a large glass, fill with seltzer, Vichy, or Apollinaris water, and serve.

Ice: Shaved ice

This is an important turn-of-the-century brace-up checkpoint because Sheridan keeps it alive as a named restorative rather than folding it into generic fizz logic.

The drink lands between sour, fizz, and restorative service, with the charged water added only after the main shake and strain.

Drinks as They Are Mixed by Paul E. Lowe (1904, p.16) — Lowe 1904

3 dash	Lemon juice (fresh) — lemon juice	acid
1 dash	Lime juice (fresh) — lime juice	acid
0.75 glass	brandy — brandy	base
1 tablespoon	sugar — powdered sugar	base
3 dash	Angostura bitters — Angostura or Boker's bitters	bitter
	Soda water — Apollinaris or Seltzer	dilution
2 dash	anisette — anisette	modifier
1 whole	egg — egg	other
0.5 glass	ice — shaved ice	other

Add the sugar, bitters, lemon juice, lime juice, anisette, egg, brandy, and shaved ice to a shaker.
Shake well and strain into a large glass.
Fill with Apollinaris or Seltzer and serve.

Ice: Shaved ice

Nose: Citrus, light anise, and brandy sweetness lead the aroma.
Palate: Brace Up is useful because it sits on the border between sour, fizz, and restorative service, showing how porous those categories remained in practice.
Finish: The finish is bright, lightly spiced, and softly foamy.
Summary: A hybrid sour-fizz restorative from the turn-of-the-century working bar.

Bartenders' Guide: How to Mix Drinks by Wehman Bros. (1912, p.9)

3 dash	lemon juice — Lemon juice	acid
1 dash	lime juice — Lime juice	acid
0.75 glass	brandy — Brandy	base
1 tablespoon	sugar — White sugar	base
3 dash	Aromatic bitters — Bitters	bitter
	mineral water — Vichy or Apollinaris water	dilution
2 dash	anisette — Anisette	modifier
1 whole	egg — Egg	other
0.5 glass	ice — Shaved ice	other

Shake the sugar, bitters, citrus, anisette, egg, brandy, and shaved ice thoroughly, strain into a large glass, fill with Vichy or Apollinaris water, and serve.

Ice: Ice

Bartenders' Manual by Bartenders Association of America (1913, p.16)

2.5 dash	lemon juice — Lemon juice	acid
1 dash	lime juice — Lime juice	acid
0.25 glass	brandy — Brandy	base
1 tablespoon	white sugar — White sugar	base
2.5 dash	bitters — Bitters	bitter
	Vichy or Apollinaris water — Fill after straining.	dilution
2 dash	anisette — Anisette	modifier
1 whole	egg — Egg	other
0.5 glass	ice — Shaved ice	other

Shake thoroughly, strain into a large glass, and fill with Vichy or Apollinaris water.

Ice: Shaved ice

The Ideal Bartender by Tom Bullock (1917, p.23) — Bullock 1917

3 dashes	Lemon juice (fresh) — Lemon Juice	acid
1 jigger	brandy	base
1 tablespoonful	sugar — Bar Sugar	base
3 dashes	Aromatic bitters — Boker's or Angostura Bitters	bitter
	Apollinaris mineral water — Apollinaris	dilution
2 dashes	anisette	modifier
1 egg	egg	other

Shake well with shaved ice.
Strain into a tall, thin glass, fill with Apollinaris, and serve.

Ice: Shaved ice

This matters because Bullock preserves a restorative egg-and-brandy branch that crosses sour and fizz logic.

The egg body and sparkling-water finish are both central to the drink's identity.

See also: Egg Sour, Brandy Fizz

The opening quantity words are softened by OCR, but the ingredient set and service logic are clear.