Sidecar Cocktail Recipe

Let’s make a Sidecar cocktail! This cognac cocktail is an absolute classic and the perfect drink to bridge the gap between summer and fall.

When you hear cognac, what comes to mind?

Is it, perhaps, an older gentleman swirling brown liquid in a snifter, wearing a velvet smoking jacket?

Yeah, let’s put a new image in your mind!

You, surrounded by friends laughing in the backyard, pouring the perfectly mixed cocktails while you ask, “Who’s drinking a Sidecar?!”

Despite having a long history and some old-school ingredients, the Sidecar is the perfect cocktail to mix for friends and to bring you from summer into fall!

Psst — before you get the recipe, be sure to sign up below for my VIP group! I send these folks more of my very best cocktail recipes and ideas for a lovely life.

A Little History on the Sidecar

It’s said that the Sidecar cocktail was created during the time of World War I, as it appeared in two cocktail recipe books that have become well-respected and much-referenced.

The Sidecar is in both Harry’s ABCs of Mixing Cocktails and Cocktails and How to Mix Them, each published in the early 1920s.

Originally, the Sidecar was mixed as a perfectly balanced cocktail, meaning equal parts of each ingredient.

These days, however, the ratios have adjusted to give a much more refined taste to the cocktail.

Cocktail Recipes to Add To Your List

I can’t wait to make this Sidecar with you, but first I pulled together some of my very favorites from our archives to share!

If you’re into home mixology, be sure to pin or bookmark these to try ASAP.

• Paloma Cocktail Recipe
• Old Cuban Cocktail Recipe
• French Gimlet Cocktail Recipe
• Dirty Shirley Cocktail Recipe
• Smoked Apple Fall Margarita

Ingredients You’ll Need

Here’s everything you’ll need to make a Sidecar cocktail. You might have most of it already!

Cognac. I love Pierre Ferrand 1840 in a Sidecar! It’s ideal for mixing; not terribly expensive, 90 proof rather than 80 proof, and because of that it holds up nicely in a cocktail.

Orange Liqueur. The most ubiquitous orange liqueur is probably Cointreau, and it’s perfect for Sidecar cocktails.

Lemon Juice. As always, I recommend freshly squeezed fruit juices for any cocktail recipe.

Garnishes. Optional garnishes for your Sidecar are orange peel, and sugar for the rim of the glass.

How to Make a Sidecar Cocktail

1. If you’d like sugar on the rim of your glass, start by running a bit of lemon juice around the rim using a lemon wedge. Then dip the rim in sugar so that the sugar sticks to the lemon juice. If you’d prefer it without sugar, you can skip this step.
2. Add ice to a shaker. In the shaker, pour 1 1/2 oz. of cognac, 3/4 oz. of Cointreau, and 3/4 oz. of lemon juice. Shake until chilled.
3. Strain into a coupe glass.
4. If you like, garnish with an orange twist. Use a knife to slice off a thin strip of orange peel and twist it over the glass to release the citrus oils. Then continue to twist until the peel is in a spiral shape, and affix it to the rim of the glass.

Why Is it Called a Sidecar?

There are two stories about why it may be called a Sidecar, both equally charming!

Two separate bars claim to have invented the drink for a customer who always arrived in the sidecar of a motorcycle, which is pretty fun.

However, others claim that the “sidecar” is the remnants of what’s left behind in the shaker after the drink is strained out into the glass. These remnants can be served in a little shot glass, making them the “sidecar” to the drink.

Either way, it’s a delicious classic to add to your home mixology adventures. Cheers!

xoxo