The Sidecar

These days in America it is popular to sugar the rim of a Sidecar cocktail which aside from adding to the theatre is always a popular choice with customers. Ironically, once you have done so this very drink (give or take a few altered measures) becomes an entirely different cocktail, one recorded in the first ever printed cocktail guide in 1862 under the name of Brandy Crusta, a recipe favourite of the great cocktail master – Jerry "The Professor" Thomas.

As with most cocktails, the origins of the drink are hazy, but this entrancing mixture of brandy, lemon juice and orange liqueur started making the rounds in the most fashionable watering holes in London and Paris during the 1920s.

Early recipes call for equal amounts of the three ingredients, which is way too boring for most people; many guides call for a 2:1:1 ratio of brandy:lemon:Cointreau, but for some that's too tart. This recipe used more Cointreau than lemon, to help everything hold in balance—but wiggle with the proportions to find the mix that's right for your taste.

The earliest mention of sugaring the rim on a Sidecar glass is 1934, in three different books: Burke's Complete Cocktail & Drinking Recipes, Gordon's Cocktail & Food Recipes, and Drinks As They Are Mixed (a revised reprint of Paul E. Lowe's 1904 book).

2 parts VSOP cognac, armagnac or good California brandy
1/2 part fresh lemon juice
1 part Cointreau (or other orange-flavored liqueur)
Dash sugar syrup
1 lemon snap (twist) [or Maraschino cherry]

Shake all ingredients in a cocktail shaker until cool and well mixed. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish: Lemon snap*

[*Lemon Snap: Make a lemon twist, an elongated oval-shaped slice of the lemon that you peel off with a bar knife or peeler. Be sure not to take too much pith (the white part) as this can add bitterness to your drink. Squeeze your twist skin side down and snap, over your cocktail to release the essential oils.]

History

… "and named after the motorcycle sidecar in which the good captain was driven to and from the little bistro where the drink was born and christened", as it was written in 1948 by David A. Embury in his acclaimed cocktail book, The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks.

The story continues to explain an eccentric British captain in Paris during WWI who frequented his favourite bar in his army issue vehicle. A story well enjoyed by bartenders and customers alike, however this defining cognac cocktail has a heritage which predates this definition by almost a century. But to begin with – the name…

The first recorded listing for the cocktail formally known as a Side-car, can be found in two cocktail reads from the early 1920s (Harry's ABC of Cocktails by Harry MacElhone and Robert Vermiers, Cocktails: How to Mix Them) where both authors credit the drink to, "MacGarry, the Popular bar-tender at Buck's Club, London" – a private bar still located on Clifford Street in central London. The drinks foundation around this time is further supported by a publication in the Coshocton Tribune in 1923 which states;

"Another new cocktail, second only in popularity to the monkey gland, has been named a "side-car," because it takes the imbiber for a ride. Two-thirds brandy, one-sixth Cointreau and one-sixth lemon juice make up this concoction".