Sidecar
Cognac learns citrus
Cognac's dried-fruit richness meets bright citrus and the orange warmth of triple sec. Balanced, elegant, and one of the great sour-style cocktails of the early 20th century.
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 oz Cognac
- 2/3 oz Triple Sec
- 2/3 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
Method
Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well until chilled. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist.
Pat MacGarry, bartender at Buck's Club in London, is credited with inventing the Sidecar during World War I. Harry MacElhone later claimed credit in revised editions of his cocktail guide. Robert Vermeire's Cocktails: How to Mix Them (May 1922) published one of the earliest recipes, noting MacGarry introduced it. Per Difford's Guide #4791. Early English sources including Craddock's 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book documented a 2:1:1 brandy-forward ratio; earlier recipes varied. Sugar-rimmed variants were documented by 1932-1934 in published cocktail guides.
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