The Sidecar is a test. A test of taste, of balance, and of maturity. Modern cocktails make a lot of noise. This one gets the job done. It's one of the official cocktails of the IBA (International Bartenders Association). On the palate, it delivers a lively burst of lemon, followed by the roundness of the cognac, and finally, a dry and slightly bitter finish. Well made, it's balanced. Poorly made, it's like a lemon squeezed into cheap brandy. The Sidecar doesn't forgive imprecision.
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Classic recipeThree ingredients: Cognac (or brandy), Triple sec (historically Cointreau), and fresh lemon juice. Historically, the proportions were 1:1:1, but today the official recipe is 2:1:1. |
The Sidecar was born somewhere between Paris and London, towards the end of the First World War (First written record in 1922). Two credible hypotheses dominate, Harry’s New York Bar in Paris where an officer supposedly arrived in a motorcycle sidecar to order this mixture and Buck’s Club in London, another haunt of alcoholicly creative aristocrats.
