If there’s anything that’s been consistent about this site in its near-20 years of beaming (babbling?) hypertext to servers and back to you, it’s that I’m very bossy when I get into something new, especially cocktails. When I fell in love with Porch Swings, I wanted you to as well. Ditto for Blood Orange Margaritas (but only when in season), a Perfect Manhattan era that spanned over a decade, Boulevardier that has been woven into almost every year since, and a Slushy Paper Plane phase last year. This past winter and spring still, it’s been Sidecars, 1920s-era cocktails with about as many conflicting stories as my kids regale us with when they didn’t do their homework.
In the one I find the most amusing, an American army captain in World War 1-era Paris would apparently roll up to a bar in a motorcycle sidecar — I have many questions including: who was the driver? — and became a regular at Hôtel Ritz Paris or possibly Harry’s New York Bar, depending on who is telling the story. The captain would order a mix of cognac, orange liqueur, and lemon juice and eventually, bartenders named the drink after his particular vehicular quirk.
In other origin stories, bartenders serve the drink with a little extra leftover from the cocktail shaker poured into a second glass… that they called the sidecar. Again, maybe it’s true, but I’m a skeptic, albeit a bemused one. I’m far more interested in its taste. I saw it referred to as the French cousin of a margarita, and honestly, I get it — it’s strong (from cognac), bright (from lemon), and slightly sweet (from orange liqueur) but balanced, as daisy drinks often are. Typically the sidecar is served with a sugared rim which I find completely unnecessary for taste (it is sweet enough) but cannot resist the way raw sugar gets a golden glint to it and include it here. We all need a little extra sparkle sometimes, right?
P.S. My cookbooks are on sale through the wonderful, independent Porchlight Books and if you order any one, two, or three of them, they will include a Mother’s Day card signed by me (and occasionally my 10 year-old). Order by Monday 4/27 to get the gift(s) in time for 5/10. [Smitten Kitchen Cookbook Sale]
Sidecar
- 1 ounce (30 ml or 2 tablespoons) lemon juice, plus an extra wedge for a sugared rim
- Raw or turbinado sugar, for the rim (optional)
- 3 ounces (90 ml or 6 tablespoons) cognac or brandy
- 1 1/2 ounces (45 ml or 3 tablespoons) cointreau or triple sec
Previously
6 months ago: Brown Butter Snickerdoodles
1 year ago: Steamed Artichokes
2 years ago: Charred Salt and Vinegar Cabbage
3 years ago: Baby Wedge Salad with Avocado and Pickled Onions
4 years ago: Chicken Liver Pâté
5 years ago: Sheet Pan Chow Mein
6 years ago: Crispy Crumbled Potatoes
7 years ago: Essential French Onion Soup
8 years ago: Asparagus and Egg Salad with Walnuts and Mint
9 years ago: Cornbread Waffles and Mushroom Tartines
10 years ago: Sesame Soba and Ribboned Omelet Salad and Apricot Hazelnut Brown Butter Hamantaschen
11 years ago: The Consolation Prize (A Mocktail) and Baked Chickpeas with Pita Chips and Yogurt
12 years ago: Whole-Grain Cinnamon Swirl Bread
13 years ago: Lentil and Chickpea Salad with Feta and Tahini
14 years ago: Soft Eggs with Buttery Herb-Gruyere Toast Soldiers
15 years ago: Spaetzle
16 years ago: Irish Soda Bread Scones and Spinach and Chickpeas
17 years ago: Cream Cheese Pound Cake with Strawberry Sauce and Bialys
18 years ago: Caramel Walnut Banana Upside Down Cake and Swiss Easter Rice Tart
19 years ago: Mixed Berry Pavlova
Deb thank you for the link to a “daisy” cocktail! A wee pearl hidden in your notes. 😘
I love a sidecar! Can’t wait to try your version.
What brand are your coupe glasses? Have been looking for 4-6oz range and these look close to that
I can’t find the link but I often buy glasses at CB2 or Crate & Barrel.
In 2000, when I was a mere 12 year old I first encountered the sidecar as the signature drink of The Dowager Princess Clarisse Renaldo of Genovia. I filed it away in the back of my mind until my 20s, when I decided in a sea of cosmos and lemon drops I would be *unique and sophisticated* and deemed the Sidecar my signature cocktail. Thank goodness I still love them and try to convert people to it regularly, especially in the winter.
If you’re looking for another cocktail to add to the repertoire can I suggest the Blood and Sand? It’s classically equal parts Scotch (I usually use bourbonk), sweet vermouth, orange juice, and cherry heering.
The sidecar always makes me think of Grandmere as well! IIRC it’s even in the quiz she gives Mia at one point.
I also came here to talk about no-Julie-Andrews book Grandmere!
Ha ha, I was hoping someone would mention Grandmere!
Mmmmmmm, sidecars. I didn’t realize that bourbon was an option, and it’s what I have atm. Yay!
I was introduced to a Sidecar by my grandmother when I was 22 (I’m now 72!). I was bringing my fiance over to meet my grandparents and she made us Sidecars in the most exquisite crystal glasses, with a powdered sugar rim. I was half drunk after consuming one of them, and it was glorious! I have inherited one of her crystal glass and to this day I still make a Sidecar and toast her. I enjoy variations on the theme as well, and lately have been making a Pear Sidecar with pear brandy.
Pear!!! Sounds glorious
Man I love a sidecar. It’s become my Christmas house cocktail – the perfect way to bring cheer. I prefer mine with a tiny bit of simple syrup, not even 1/4 oz, to balance it out. But I bet the sugar rim does the same trick!
Last week, I picked up Robert Simonson’s (EXCELLENT) 3-Ingredient Cocktails book, and he devotes several paragraphs to the Sidecar, including recommending Joaquín Simó’s version at his bar Pouring Ribbons. Perhaps you’ve already encountered it?
Also, we added a bottle of cognac to our liquor collection just a few months ago, so this is perfect timing!
my favorite cocktail!
We make our sidecars with bourbon, cointreau, lime juice, and a tsp of simple syrup (made with demerara sugar). This is one of our favorite drinks and we’ll have to try it with lemon juice but stick with the bourbon since we love it so much!
This is a cocktail that has gone in and out of my life. I prefer a sugared rim but like the idea of half a sugared rim. If I remember before squeezing the lemon, I am a fan of a lemon twist as well.
Having the ratios, a wise friend taught me to press my citrus for whatever cocktail and weigh it. Use the ratio to then calculate the amount of the other ingredients using the ratio. (It is a method that I think Deb would approve of with her preference to use a whole container of something.) You can always put excess cocktail in the freezer for another day.
MMMmmmm sidecars….although I’ve pretty much quit alcohol, I will imbibe an occasional sidecar, my mouth is watering just thinking about it. Wanted to add that juice from a meyer lemon makes these even better!!
I’m new to cognac and brandy. What kind do you recommend for this recipe?
I don’t remember which brand I had that day but I honesty don’t use fancy spirits for mixing. For sipping, perhaps, but I don’t like cognac enough to do that. ;)
The sidecar is one of my favorites–there’s something magic about it when you get the ratio just right, and your recipe is the same as mine. Personally I feel like Cointreau instead of Triple Sec is practically a must.
If you like sidecars, Manhattans and boulevardiers, you might really like the Godfather