Stickydate Brandy 2026: Sticky Date Pudding, Finally in a Bottle
Sticky date and brandy have been finding each other on Australian tables for fifty years. Pudding on the plate, brandy off the shelf. We just stopped pretending they were two separate decisions and put them in the same bottle.
There's a longer story than usual in this one. The brandy started as wine, wine recovered from bottles damaged in the 2021 Brisbane floods. Luke distilled it into spirit and rested it for two years in a Pedro Ximénez sherry barrel. By the time it came out it was already oaky and bold, with a touch of deep red fruit.
Then we got the dates out. Pitted dates and house-made pecan brittle, steeped in the brandy for a week, then cooked down with brown sugar, vanilla and cinnamon into a dark, velvety syrup and folded back in. Two more weeks of rest. Then bottled. Vanilla, caramel and sticky date pudding on the nose; sticky date pudding with a sophisticated oaky finish on the palate. Below are the serves and the recipes from this year's release.
240 bottles, $95 each. When they're gone, that's it — we're not running a second batch.
Shop Stickydate Brandy Book a Tour / TastingThe Recipes
Sip: The Perfect Pours
The two simplest ways to drink it. Start here.
The Short- 30ml Stickydate Brandy
- Ice
- Garnish: dehydrated orange slice, cinnamon stick or dark chocolate square
- 30ml Stickydate Brandy
- Long Rays Dark Soda, to top
- Garnish: dehydrated orange slice, cinnamon stick or dark chocolate square
Method: Build over ice. For The Long, top with Long Rays Dark Soda. Garnish with a dehydrated orange slice. The easiest moment of the night.
Shake: Sticky Business
Our signature serve. Sticky date pudding, in a glass, dressed for the evening.
You'll need (at the bar)- 45ml Stickydate Brandy
- 20ml spiced brown sugar syrup (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger — recipe below)
- 5ml triple sec
- Vanilla bean ice cream foam, to top (recipe below)
- Grated nutmeg + a shard of pecan brittle, on the side
- Shake the brandy, spiced syrup and triple sec with ice, then strain into a glass.
- Top with a cloud of vanilla bean ice cream foam.
- Finish with grated nutmeg and a shard of pecan brittle on the side.
At home: swap the triple sec for 2 dashes orange bitters or a splash of orange juice, and the foam for a little cream (or softened vanilla ice cream stirred through). Sit down. You'll want to.
Share: The Brandy Bird
A tropical, jungle-bird turn for the brandy. Serves a table.
You'll need- 180–240ml Stickydate Brandy (depending on preferred strength)
- 180ml pineapple juice
- 60ml lime juice
- 45ml grapefruit juice
- 30ml maple syrup (or sugar syrup)
- 8 dashes Angostura bitters
- Fresh lime wheels + a mint sprig, to garnish
- Add everything to a jug with plenty of ice and stir well.
- Pour into ice-filled glasses.
- Garnish with lime wheels and a mint sprig.
Share Dessert: After Dinner Affair Affogato
The third course and the nightcap in one bowl. Pour, scoop, share.
You'll need- 120ml Stickydate Brandy
- 4 scoops premium vanilla bean ice cream
- 4 waffle cone chips, halved
- Caramel drizzle
- Crushed Biscoff biscuits or crushed toasted pecans
- Scoop the ice cream into a wide bowl or coupe and stand the waffle cone chips in the scoops.
- Pour the Stickydate Brandy over at the table.
- Finish with caramel drizzle and crushed Biscoff or toasted pecans.
Eat: Quick Sticky Date Pudding (with the brandy)
The dessert that started all this. One bowl, about forty minutes. The brandy goes in twice — the batter and the sauce.
You'll need — pudding- 200g pitted medjool dates, roughly chopped
- 1 tsp bicarb soda
- 250ml boiling water
- 30ml Stickydate Brandy
- 80g butter, softened
- 150g brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 175g self-raising flour
- Pinch of cinnamon
- 100g butter
- 150g brown sugar
- 200ml cream
- 30ml Stickydate Brandy, stirred in off the heat
- Heat the oven to 180°C. Soak the dates, bicarb and boiling water 10 minutes, then mash roughly and stir in the 30ml brandy.
- Beat the butter and sugar, add the eggs one at a time, then fold in the flour, cinnamon and the date mix.
- Pour into a greased 20cm tin (or 6 ramekins) and bake 30–35 minutes, until a skewer comes out nearly clean. Nearly — this is a pudding, not a sponge.
- For the sauce, bubble the butter, sugar and cream for 3 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the brandy. Pour over generously.
To serve: warm, with cream or vanilla ice cream, and a 30ml pour of Stickydate Brandy on the side.
Make: House-Made Pecan Brittle
The shard on the side of every Sticky Business — the same brittle steeped into the bottle.
You'll need- 1 cup caster sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Pinch of sea salt
- Toast the pecans and set aside.
- Add the sugar and water to a saucepan over medium heat. Stir only until dissolved, then leave it alone.
- Let it boil to a deep amber/copper colour — darker than a normal caramel. It should smell slightly nutty, almost smoky.
- Off the heat, stir in the butter, then carefully add the vanilla. Stir the pecans through quickly.
- Pour straight onto baking paper and spread as thin as possible. Cool fully before breaking.
Tip: the dark cook is what gives the proper hard-crack snap. Pull it too early and it turns chewy. Optional: drizzle melted dark chocolate over the cooled shards and finish with flaked sea salt.
The Bar Components: Spiced Syrup & Vanilla Foam
The two house-made pieces behind Sticky Business. Make a batch of each and the cocktail comes together in seconds.
Spiced brown sugar syrup (~300ml, keeps 2–3 weeks refrigerated)- 1 cup (250ml) water
- 1 cup (220g) brown sugar — or 2:1 sugar to water for more body
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 4–5 thin slices fresh ginger (or 1 tbsp grated)
- ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- Combine everything in a saucepan and warm over medium heat, stirring just until the sugar dissolves. Don't boil hard.
- Simmer 5 minutes, then take off the heat and steep the spices 20–30 minutes.
- Strain into a clean bottle, cool and refrigerate. Use 20ml per Sticky Business.
Tip: steep off the heat — boiling the spices turns the syrup bitter.
Vanilla bean ice cream foam (fills a 0.5L cream whipper, ~10–12 serves)- 200ml thickened / heavy cream, cold
- 120ml premium vanilla bean ice cream, melted to liquid
- ½ tsp vanilla bean paste
- Pinch of fine salt
- Whisk the cold cream, melted ice cream, vanilla paste and salt until smooth.
- Strain through a fine sieve — essential, or solids block the siphon nozzle.
- Pour into a 0.5L whipping siphon, no more than two-thirds full.
- Charge with 1 N2O charger and shake firmly 8–10 times.
- Refrigerate at least 1 hour. Shake again, then dispense nozzle-down over the cocktail.
No siphon? Whip 150ml cold cream to soft peaks, fold through 2 tbsp softened vanilla bean ice cream and ¼ tsp vanilla paste, and spoon a soft quenelle on top. The foam is a garnish and contains no alcohol. Contains dairy and (with the brittle) nuts — please flag for allergies.
The Bite: Stuffed Medjool Dates
Five minutes, no cooking. The same fruit steeped in the bottle — eating them alongside closes the loop.
You'll need- 6 medjool dates
- 2 tbsp whipped goat cheese or labneh
- A handful of pistachios, roughly chopped
- Flaky sea salt
- Slice each date lengthways and remove the pit.
- Spoon in a little cheese, scatter over the pistachios, finish with flaky salt.
- Open the brandy.
Stickydate Brandy is a one-off limited release — 240 bottles, $95, while they last. Look out Sara Lee. Take a break, Mum. We've got this sorted.
Shop Stickydate Brandy Book a Tour / Tasting