Sidecar

[Apologies for the long absence. Work has been kicking my ass lately, and after a few weeks it becomes hard to work up the blogging momentum. Anyway, I'm back now. ]

Ah, Paris! One of the world’s most legendary cities, along with New York and London, and definitely the most picturesque of the three. Millions of people flock there every year to visit famous monuments, take long walks along the Seine during a warm afternoon and then move on to one of its many bistros or even one of its mythical drinking establishments for dinner and a couple of drinks.

However, it’s not always summer in Paris, and the winter can be harsh. So harsh, in fact, that the quintessentially wintry Sidecar is a Parisian creation.

Hailing from the 1920s, when prohibition still held the U.S. in its claws, this mix of brandy, triple sec and lemon juice was reputedly created at either Harry’s New York Bar or at the Paris Ritz, both great old establishments. A regular customer, the story goes, walked in one evening chilled to the bone due to foolishly mixing a Paris winter night and a ride in a motorbike. Apparently, this was the first thing the bartender came up with, and he named it Sidecar after the customer’s vehicle of choice.

Whether this is true or not, it’s really a great drink and deservedly one of the classics.

Recipe:

1 1/2 oz. Brandy
1 oz. Cointreau
1/2 oz. Lemon juice

Shake and strain into a sugar-rimmed cocktail glass.

Notes:

This recipe allows for some experimentation with the ratios given. I’ve given you the 3-2-1 (3 parts brandy - 2 parts Cointreau - 1 part lemon juice) recipe in Gary Regan’s Joy of Mixology, because it’s the one I’ve been using lately, but other common ratios are 2-1-1 and 4-2-1. I find this version keeps the sourness of the drink under control, and the flavours are quite neatly balanced, but your tastes may vary.

If you can’t be bothered with the sugar rim, you can add a quarter-ounce or so of simple syrup to the mix. It’s not quite the same, but it works well.

Rating:

- I hate the winter, but one or two of these can make a cold day bearable.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 4th, 2008 at 3:34 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.