🥃 Sidecar

Sidecar is the classic way to drink cognac in a sour: cognac, orange liqueur and lemon juice, served without ice in a chilled coupe glass, sometimes with a sugared rim. The taste is balanced: the depth of cognac, the sweetness of orange and the sharpness of lemon. It is one of the oldest brandy sours, that is, cocktails made of a strong spirit, sour juice and a sweet component.

Ingredients. Difford's Guide gives the older proportion of 6:3:2, namely 45 ml of cognac, 22.5 ml of orange liqueur and 15 ml of lemon juice. The author now recommends reducing the liqueur, adding lemon and a spoon of sugar syrup. Cointreau is often the liqueur of choice. Everything is shaken with ice, strained and served at once while the drink is cold; dilution with ice is part of the recipe and softens the strength.

History. According to the Oxford Companion, the first printed recipes date from 1922, in books by two London bartenders. The creator is named either as the London Buck's Club or a Paris bar; the exact origin could not be established. So the neutral statement is: London or Paris, the early 1920s. The Oxford Companion sees in this drink the beginning of the era of "luxury" cocktails, where a strong spirit is combined with a liqueur and citrus.

Base. Cognac is a protected drink of the Charente region, and this cocktail does not require the oldest bottling. Usually VS or VSOP is used. Some recipes replace cognac with another grape brandy. Sherry brandy or armagnac make the drink slightly sweeter or earthier, but the structure stays the same.

Why this matters to you. A smooth, balanced taste easily hides the strength: the cocktail contains two strong ingredients. The WHO reminds us that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption.