Name: Sidecar Royale
Total time: 4 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 45 ml Cognac (brandy); 22.5 ml Triple sec; 15 ml Lemon juice; 5 ml Sugar syrup (2:1); 3 drop Saline solution 4:1; 15 ml Brut sparkling wine

Sidecar Royale
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Photographed in a Retro Coupe

Ingredients:
1 ¹⁄₂ oz	Rémy Martin V.S.O.P. cognac
³⁄₄ oz	Cointreau triple sec liqueur
¹⁄₂ oz	Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
¹⁄₆ oz	Monin Pure Cane Syrup (65.0°brix, equivalent to 2:1 rich syrup)
3 drop	Saline solution 4:1 (20g sea salt to 80g water)
¹⁄₂ oz	Brut champagne/sparkling wine

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

Select and pre-chill a Coupe glass.
RIM glass with sugar (moisten the outside edge with orange juice and dip into sugar).
Prepare garnish of orange zest twist.
SHAKE first 4 ingredients with ice.
FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.
EXPRESS flamed orange zest twist over cocktail, then use as garnish.

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Brut champagne/sparkling wine - Sulphur Dioxide/Sulphites

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Review:

A classic Sidecar with an added splash of sparkle, and all the better for it.

View readers' comments

AKA: Champagne Sidecar

History:

The Sidecar cocktail first appears in Robert Vermeire's 1922 Cocktails How To Mix Them with a fizz invigorated Sidecar following in the United Kingdom Bartenders' Guild's 1937 Approved Cocktails.

CHAMPAGNE SIDE-CAR.
25% Lemon Juice.
25% Brandy.
25% Cointreau.
Shake and strain into a large glass. Fill up with Champagne.
United Kingdom Bartenders' Guild, Approved Cocktails, 1937

This recipe created by yours truly in 2023 at the suggestion of Ian Fenton, a fellow Discerning Drinker.

Nutrition:

One serving of Sidecar Royale contains 181 calories

Alcohol content:

1.5 standard drinks
20.65% alc./vol. (20.65° proof)
21.2 grams of pure alcohol

Difford’s Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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Showing 4 comments for Sidecar Royale.
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G. M. Genovese

5th February at 22:43

Made the above recipe - it WAS a Sidecar, but the sparkling was too weak... Made the 1:1:1:(ostensibly)1 original, and I preferred that, and would defer to the 'Royale' moniker bestoweth uponeth it. But that was a different fizz for sure.

John Hinojos

1st April 2024 at 03:34

Love, love, love these original cocktail. Imaginative and flavourful. This is outstanding. Will definitely have again.

Daniel Ortiz

10th February 2024 at 23:46

I’m a big fan of this cocktail. While hosting guests I did a variation with Lairds BIB Apple Brandy and it was a hit. I did a 50/50 split of Lairds to Ferrand 10 Generations Cognac.

Chris Dimal

21st January 2024 at 12:34

Did not try this cocktail (don't have Champagne), but this was actually created in essentially the same way by Kevin Kos back in December 2021. The idea of a Sidecar with sparkling wine was probably even older than the 2020s, too.

Chris Dimal

4th February 2024 at 14:42

Wow, it really is old. There probably are so many cocktails which were made decades ago, but never saw the light of day, only for a bartender decades later to claim it as the original. As always, thanks for everything you do Simon, and thanks for your input, Ian.

1 reply

Simon Difford

1st February 2024 at 13:04

I've added the 1937 UKBG Approved Cocktails recipe above.

See discussion in the Forum