4. Getting Frenchy: The Sidecar.
WHAT IT IS: The Sidecar is a blend of Cognac, Lemon and Cointreu, sometimes with a touch of sugar. The origins of the drink are contradictory and mythical, centering on WW1 and an officer arriving by motorcycle. The truth is that the drink is most likely an offspring of a much older drink called a Daisy, or the overly elaborate and fussy Crusta.
HOW TO MAKE IT: There are two schools of thought here. The French version calls for equal parts, while most American (and hence most modern) recipes call for a ratio of 2 oz of Cognac, Armangnac or good Brandy of any type, with ¾ of an ounce of fresh lemon juice.
Shake the ratio of your choosing with ice, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. You can, if you choose, rim the glass with sugar by running a lemon around the rim of the glass and dipping it in a plate of sugar before straining the drink.
Easy.
WHY YOU SHOULD CARE: The Sidecar is the forerunner of a whole passel of drinks that balance the joy of booze with the fresh acidity of citrus and the sweetness of orange liqueurs like Cointreau and Triple Sec. If you can make a good Sidecar, you can make a good Margarita, Daiquiri, Rum Daisy, and even the much-reviled Cosmopolitan. The Sidecar is the tough, war-hero granddad of every drink adopted by groups of ladies as “their thing,” so you should definitely know how to make one.
