Sidecar Cocktail

I have to admit, I’m not much of a cocktail drinker outside of a gin and tonic and a couple other easy to prepare mixed drinks. When we’re out I normally order wine or beer. Rick is the same way. Aside from wine and beer he likes the occasional chupito (shot) of cognac or anisette with his coffee. The theme for this week’s I Heart Cooking Clubs challenge is It’s 5 O’Clock Somewhere. I picked a Sidecar Cocktail because it uses brandy which we typically have on hand, plus I was curious about how it would taste. It seems I’ve found another cocktail to add to my list.

The Sidecar is a sweet and sour drink. Brandy is the base with an orange liqueur like Cointreau or Triple Sec and lemon juice adding the sweet and sour notes. You can adjust the ratios to suit your personal taste (see John’s detailed discussion of the drink on Kitchen Riff’s).

Ina seems to like The Sidecar as I found two recipes using slightly different ingredient. This one is served in a martini glass and this one in a highball glass. Let’s mix up a batch for two people.

To make The Sidecar you will need:

• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (1 – 2 lemons depending on the size)
• 1/4 cup Triple Sec or Cointreau
• 1/2 cup Cognac or Brandy
• cocktail shaker
• ice
• optional garnish: cherries or lemon peel

How to mix the drink:

1. First rim the glasses with sugar. Pour about a 1/4 cup of sugar into a shallow bowl. Rub a cut lemon slice around the edge of the glass and dip it into the sugar. Allow to dry for 15 minutes.
2. Next make the garnish by threading a cherry onto a skewer. A twist of lemon peel also works.
3. Add the ice to the cocktail shaker and then pour over the lemon juice, Triple Sec and brandy. Shake well to mix and cool down the drink. Pour into the sugar rimmed martini glasses and garnish.

Ina suggests mixing the ingredients in a pitcher and then cooling the drink in the cocktail shaker before serving. This would be a great way to serve Sidecar Cocktails to a crowd.

This post is part of I Heart Cooking Clubs theme: It’s 5 O’Clock Somewhere with Ina Garten. Follow the link to see what the other bloggers have created to help them blow off some steam at the end of the day.