The Sidecar
The Sidecar, ain't it pretty?
Ah, what bliss it is to be back in swing of New Drink Thursdays. To kick things off, I decided to go with a suggestion from my friend Michael.
Sidecar Recipe:
- 1 shot Cognac
- 1 shot Triple Sec
- Sweet & Sour Mix
I was surprised by the lack of the taste of the cognac in this drink. However, I did find it to be a little too sweet for my tastes. I was told by the bartender that it was traditionally made with lemon juice instead of sweet & sour mix, I wonder if I would have liked it more then… Hmmm.
Anyway, that was my first entry into New Drink Thursdays. I am looking forward to many many more. I’ve decided to leave you with the article postings about each drink from the site That’s the Spirit. Be sure to check it out after the jump.
Cheers!
D
Next week: Contents Under Pressure
The differences are numerous!
UPDATE!
Andrew saw my review of the Sidecar and decided to try making it with lemon juice. As I imagined, the drink was drastically different, and MUCH better. He also put sugar on the rim of the glass to add just a little sweetness to the whole thing. As I said above, the sweet and sour mix made the drink just a sweet mess, using lemon juice really makes the whole drink have a flavor to it, as opposed to just being yet another mixed drink with sweet and sour mix.
To sum up, never have this drink unless you can have it properly. You’ll be sorry if you don’t.
Sidecar Cocktail
“the IT Cocktail” says Entertainment Weekly.
Long overshadowed by the hussy Cosmopolitan, this speakeasy standard is making a comeback as subtle as its flavor.”* It’s also got a champion in Busta Rhymes, who sang the praises of its main ingredient – Cognac.
Two parts strong, one part sweet, and one part sour. These are the perfect proportions of this classic cocktail. If you mix it just right, you will get instant transport back to the days before vodka arrived on the scene.
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Entertainment Weekly named this drink to its infamous “IT” list for 2002.
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The Sidecar has been in full resurgence during the last few years, meaning that crude variations have appeared. A neatly sugarcoated rim, a pale opacity, a biting chill off the glass, and a tartness that makes it impossible to tell where the lemon lets off and the Cointreau begins – these are signs you’ve got a real one. If you the bartender reach for the sweet-and-sour mix, you’ll know you’re going to get a dud.
The Sidecar was invented at a bar in Paris, during World War I, and was named after a good captain who was customarily driven to and from the little bistro in a motorcycle sidecar. According to mythology, the officer was under the weather and asked for an aperitif before dinner. Brandy would be used to combat a cold in those
| TIP: Be careful not to chintz out and use lemon juice from concentrate or sweet and sour mix – this will detract from the full effect of the Sidecar. |
days yet is traditionally an after-dinner drink, so the captain suggested that the bartender add lemon juice and Cointreau to lighten it up. Vitamin C is helpful when fighting colds too and the Brandy warms you up. A classic cocktail was born. In the 1920s, the Sidecar became a signature drink for the Hemmingway ex-pat crowd in postwar Paris.
We can only wonder if Harry, of Harry’s New York Bar in Paris, had first mixed the drink for the captain, as is quietly rumored. But even Harry’s grandson, Duncon MacElhone, seems unsure, by just mentioning that “the history of the Sidecar is most confusing.”
FACTS
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Any country that grows grapes can produce Brandy. True “Cognac” only comes from the town of Cognac in France found between the Gironde and Charente rivers.
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Brandy made from apples is known as Applejack, and a variation on this type of Brandy produced in Europe is known as “Calvados”
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30 Years ago: “Trader Vic’s Bartender’s Guide” published by Doubleday 1972; “Among the hundreds of cocktails – some with the most gosh-awful names and outlandish ingredients – comparatively few have weathered the years so they are still ordered everywhere. Outstanding among the surviving classics are Martinis, Manhattans, Side Cars, Old Fashioned, Gimlets, and Daiquiris.
1 comment
This one smelled like liqour a whole lot, but you didn’t really taste it! Yum.