If you like making fruitcake in the first place (with a good recipe, it is nothing like the quasi-edible doorstops sold in stores), use a spicy recipe for the "cake" part and mediocre brandy should be fine for soaking it. Certainly I've never used really good booze, yet people like the resulting cake.

Make some Mulled Wine. We made a few batches last winter- lots of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves- whatever spices you want... Orange zest, peel, apple slices, simple syrup- a Big 'ol jug of red wine, heat it up for a while, till your whole house smells like it, and sip it out of mugs, with a splash of brandy (to make up for the alcohol that cooked out during the heating). Great for the oncoming cold weather- and we've even funneled the remains of batches after parties back into an empty wine bottle, and kept it for a couple weeks- nuke it glass by glass till its gone.

I like to use brandy, as opposed to wine, in my bolognese sauce. As far as drinking is concerned, if your brandy is just below sipping quality you should consider making sidecars, the cointreau and lemon will mask the quality of your brandy.

I might be alone here, but I wouldn't cook with alcohol I wouldn't drink. It's not snobbery - it's because cooking alcohol concentrates the flavor, and bad alcohol tastes worse once it's been heated.

@erikdsteel: Marcella Hazan and Julia Child would be with you, but there have actually been quite a few studies that show that the quality of cooking wine, for example, doesn't matter so much. Especially if you're making something strongly flavored. Also, there's a big difference between swill and an alcohol you would use for mixed drinks, but not necessarily drink on the rocks, as cellis212 notes.

Brandy is great cooked into pound cake. I'm also a huge fan of this Italian zuccotto recipe where you soak pound cake (which you can buy pre-made if you like) in brandy and Amaretto or another flavored liquor and then line a bowl with the alcohol-soaked cake. Fill with whipped cream flavored with melted nice chocolate and toasted almonds or hazelnuts top off with more alcohol-soaked pound cake, and then chill for a few hours. When you unmold it, it looks gorgeous! And I always end up using more brandy than recipes call for for this. There's a recipe here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/zuccotto-recipe/index.html

You could also try making infusing it into flavored brandy by adding fruit and spices. Nigella Lawson has a quince brandy recipe, and I think she even specifies to use a cheap brandy. (In fact, most infusion recipes I see, e.g. for homemade vanilla extract, specify using a cheap alcohol.)

In a bit of a separate application, you can also use the brandy to make an extract. Since many extracts end up strongly flavored, the initial quality of the brandy isn't quite as important. Not to mention that extracts are also often used in baking, which is yet another step removed from tasting the actual brandy. In fact, my favorite brandy infusion is vanilla extract with 2-3 beans (split open) used per pint, which I steep for about a month (though this is purely personal preference).

Just today I saw a recipe for Chicken Normandy: http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/chicken_normandy/

If it's at least good enough to drink, I'd vote just mix it with coke or pepsi. Just like a rum and coke.

I use it for the brandied caramel on the sticky-spiked apple cake from this website. Delish!

Amaretto: This is a huge hit we make for family during the holidays.

1 cup sugar + 1 cup water - boil about 2 minutes until it makes a thin syrup. Mix with 1 cup cheap vodka, 1 cup cheap brandy, 2 tablespoons almond extract.

The almond flavor definitely covers the cheap alcohol taste especially as we use this for baking, in coffee, or split in a double shot with half and half.

I also use the leftover brandy from making this in soups, roasts, sweet breads and cakes. A little dash in anything that needs a subtle flavor kick. Everyone wonders what that wonderful flavor in my beef and barley stew is!

I know summer is essentially over... but Brandy Slush is a Wisconsin party staple. And it's delicious. Google a recipe w/no tea in it - it's primarily made w/frozen juice concentrates and a whole lotta brandy.

Thanks for all these wonderful suggestions, guys! I am tempted by a number of them but I think homemade amaretto (which happens to be my favorite liquor) and extract are at the top of the list.
In case anyone is interested, the brandy in question is E&J VSOP Superior Reserve . . . and I'd rather not find out what exactly it's superior to.

VSOP is exactly what we used for the amaretto last Christmas as it was the cheapest thing available and we were doing a tight Christmas. It worked great. The important point with the amaretto is to watch the quality of the vodka. Always use a vodka you would drink in a mixed drink - it changes the feel of the liquor more than the brandy does. I also got the almond extract from a bulk store (sams club) and saved a ton of money that way.

Make some delicious onion soup. Add a few tbsp to the broth while simmering, add delicious depth of flavor.

The E&J that you refer to and the Christian Brothers which is pictured at the top of this story are perfectly acceptable for mixing and cooking. No, they are not the cognacs that I like to drink, but they do have their uses. I keep a bottle of Christian Brothers around for basic use.

The juice of a lemon, a tablespoon of honey, a good shake of ginger and some very hot water can be well mixed and then laced with this kind of brandy to provide real relief from a cold.

In less afflicted times, it mixes well with orange juice and a few ice cubes.

Just fine to flambe.

It can help out coffee or hot chocolate on a cold night.

And, as mentioned above, it is good for flavoring cakes, soaking fruitcakes, and making extracts.

Now if you want to be really repelled by CHEAP brandy head for the liquor store and find the cheapest thing they have. Guaranteed regrettable.

Add 1 part Benedictine to 1 part brandy for a B&B on the rocks.

I got a bunch of cheap brandy and rum from a friend who moved abroad, and made batchelor's jam with seasonal fruit.
http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/30/case-study-bachelors-jam/

If it's not good enough to sip, you can always mix it, there are plenty of cocktails that call for brandy! If it's really terrible, I wouldn't cook with it. I won't cook with anything that isn't good enough to drink (it doesn't have to be great for me to drink it!). Strangely enough, I sometimes use really good sherry for cooking, but I rarely drink it.

Sangria! Many recipes for Sangria call for mixing your fruit with brandy and sugar before adding the wine.

I use cheap brandy for peppercorn sauce. Soak peppercorns in brandy for an hour or so, finely dice shallots and garlic, sweat off in half OO, half butter. Chuck softened peppercorns in pan, add another good slug of brandy, then add double cream, and simmer till slightly thickened.

@gudnis I forgot about Hot Toddys! They really do work for a cold or anything with a cough. Surprisingly I asked my Dr. about this one and he told me why it helps. Alcohol causes constricting of the blood vessels and temporarily stops a cough so you can get some sleep. This is why cough syrup has alcohol in it. Ginger clears out your sinuses, lemon is an antibacterial and astringent and the honey soothes your throat. I think they taste nice too - I definitely use brandy for these!

Keep it in the back of the bar for guests you don't like.

Make Brandy Butter for Christmas!

You could use some to make a boozed up Egg Nog - I'm sure there are plenty of recipes about.

I use it to make a delicious Sangria. Just buy a cheap dry bottle of red and you'll have a great pitcher of sangria to go along with your meal...Recipe on my blog http://www.kindafamousfood.com/p/most-wanted.html

SURPRISINGLY...HEAVEN HILL KENTUCKY BOURBON WHISKEY IS REALLY GOOD! AND OF COURSE 4ROSES BOURBON IS GREAT AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST IS KESSLERS. TRY THEM AND SEE FOR YOURSELF!