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Sidecar Cocktail

Name: Sidecar Cocktail
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Yield: 1
Ingredients: 1 oz brandy; 1 oz Cointreau (or Triple Sec); 3/4 oz fresh lemon juice; 6 ice cubes; 1 tablespoon chopped orange zest; 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

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Prep 5 min
Total 5 min
Servings 1

A yummy, citrus-y classic featuring Cointreau (or Triple Sec), lemon and brandy.

By Michelle P

Updated May 10, 2017

Ingredients

1 oz brandy
1 oz Cointreau (or Triple Sec)
3/4 oz fresh lemon juice
6 ice cubes

For Rimming the Glass

1 tablespoon chopped orange zest
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Steps

1

Combine the orange zest and granulated sugar on a small plate or shallow bowl. Moisten the rim of a martini glass with an orange segment or water. Dip in the orange zest/sugar mixture and set aside.
2

Pour brandy, Cointreau and lemon juice into a cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake vigorously. Pour into prepared glass.

No nutrition information available for this recipe

I first encountered the Sidecar Cocktail while doing research for an upcoming book on gelatin renditions of classic cocktails. The Sidecar is a classic mixed drink dating back to the 1920’s. It was originally concocted for a patron of a Paris bar, who was often driven about in a motorcycle sidecar. I must confess an initial reluctance to try the Sidecar, however. I thought I wasn’t really a “brandy person”). But after just one sip, I had to admit that I was wrong. It’s hard not to fall the Sidecar’s citrus-y, tangy, mildly sweet spell! Perhaps I am a brandy person, after all? While some prefer a Sidecar on the rocks, for me, the perfect Sidecar is shaken with ice and served “up” in a martini glass with a sugared rim. When serving Sidecars at home, I like to take it one step further and rim the glasses with a mix of granulated or large crystal sugar (3 tbsp) and chopped orange zest (1 tbsp). Moistening the rim of the glass with a piece of cut orange, rather than plain water, adds an extra kick of citrus. For a crowd, make a pitcher of Sidecars with the recipe proportions (1:1:3/4, with brandy, Cointreau and lemon juice, respectively) and whatever measures make sense for your gathering. At party time, shake and pour each cocktail individually. The martini glasses can be rimmed ahead of time and set aside until cocktail hour. Try serving Sidecars with a spicy mixed nut mix.