Sidecar Recipe

Here’s Our Review of the Sidecar

When you’re talking cocktails, you’re usually talking about a recipe with a base spirit of Gin, Vodka, Whiskey, Rum, or Tequila. But the Sidecar is made with Cognac! Sure, Cognac based cocktails aren’t rare or anything, but they’re certainly not as common as cocktails made with other base spirits.

That’s kind of what makes the Sidecar so special though. As Cognac based cocktails go, the Sidecar is probably one of the best known ones out there, and there’s a reason for that: it’s a great cocktail!

Cognac is an interesting spirit. From the greater Brandy family, Cognac is a spirit distilled from Wine (and anything distilled from fruit juice is a Brandy). But Cognac is different. I won’t go into the ins and outs of how Cognac is made, but it’s considered a higher quality Brandy. That’s speaking very generally, of course. But because of the depth of flavour created by the Cognac, the Sidecar has some wonderful flavours in it as well.

The Sidecar Cocktail goes to show that using quality ingredients creates a quality cocktail. Sure, you could try making a Sidecar with Brandy, even a Grape Brandy, but it just wouldn’t be the same. Does this mean that the Sidecar is only getting such praise because the recipe calls for Cognac? Will a Cognac and Tonic be better than a Gin and Tonic? Not really. And a Cognac and Tonic doesn’t sound very good anyway…

The fruity notes of the Cognac pair well with the Cointreau, and the sweetness from both the Cointreau and the sugared rim do well to balance out the bitterness from the Lemon Juice. It’s a simple cocktail, but like so many simple cocktails, the Sidecar finds something better in its simplicity and manages to create a drink that’s bigger than the sum of its parts.

All in all, the Sidecar is one of those classic cocktails that may have been forgotten in some circles, but for those who know about it, they appreciate it and keep making or having one. Personally, I think the Sidecar should make a resurgence and feature more commonly on bar menus. If you’re at a nicer cocktail bar the bartenders will probably know it, but for lower end cocktails bars, they probably won’t know it. But it’s likely they’ll have everything on hand!

So take an adventure in a Sidecar. All you need to do is decide who the driver is.

9/10

• Review by Bobby

If you like the Sidecar, why not take a look at a few more recipes?

We have lots of cocktail recipes on this website. We’re sure you know how to browse a website, but we, of course, have a few suggestions for you. Take a look:

All three ingredient cocktail recipes: something nice about the Sidecar is that there are only three ingredients. This makes them as easy to make as they are easy to enjoy. Take a look at other cocktails with only three ingredients (or fewer!).

Top 15 three ingredient cocktail recipes: if you’re a little overwhelmed by a list of all of our three ingredient cocktail recipes, we’ve narrowed it down to our favourite fifteen. You’re welcome!

All Cognac cocktail recipes: if you’re just after Cognac cocktails, we have you covered. Take a look!

All classic cocktail recipes: the Sidecar is a classic. Keep up with all your classic cocktails by taking a look at all the classic recipes we have.