Sidecar

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (312 ratings)

Photographed in a Speakeasy Coupe 8.5oz

Ingredients:
1 12 oz Rémy Martin V.S.O.P. cognac
1 oz Cointreau triple sec liqueur
12 oz Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
13 oz Chilled water omit if using wet ice
× 1 1 serving
Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

  1. Select and pre-chill a Coupe glass.
  2. RIM glass with sugar (moisten the outside edge with orange juice and dip into sugar).
  3. Prepare garnish of lemon zest twist.
  4. SHAKE all ingredients with ice.
  5. FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.
  6. EXPRESS lemon zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol
Medium
Boozy
Strength 8/10
Sweet
Medium
Dry/sour
Sweet to sour 8/10

Review:

Spirituous and just on the sour side, the sugar rim is considered by some to be integral to this classic cocktail. Dilution is key to perfecting a Sidecar, so if using ice straight from a freezer (rather than an ice machine), consider adding 10 to 15ml chilled water. In place of a sugar rim, some may want to add 2.5ml or more sugar syrup or see my Sidecar recipe.

View readers' comments

Variant:

Difford's Sidecar recipe
Sidecar Royale - a Sidecare charged with sparkling wine/champagne
Apple Cart - a calvados-based Sidecar
Biblical Sidecar - a spicy Christmassy sidecar
Biggles Sidecar - with ginger liqueur
Chelsea Sidecar - gin-based
Chocolate Sidecar - with crème de cacao and port
Eastern Raspberry Sidecar - with sake and fresh raspberries
Gennaros Sidecar - with limoncello
Grand Sidecar - Difford's two-ingredient Sidecar
Lady's Sidecar - with orange and lemon juice
Champs-Elysees
Marignay

History:

In his 1948 Fine Art of Mixing Drinks, David A. Embury says of the Sidecar's origin: "It was invented by a friend of mine at a bar in Paris during World War I and was named after the motorcycle sidecar in which the good captain customarily was driven to and from the little bistro where the drink was born and christened."

Embury doesn't name the bar, but it's commonly assumed that he meant Harry's New York Bar and that its owner, Harry MacElhone, created the cocktail. However, in his own 1922 ABC of Cocktails, Harry credits the cocktail to Pat MacGarry, "the Popular bar-tender at Buck's Club, London." However, in later ABC of Cocktails editions, he appears to take credit for the cocktail himself. The fact that MacElhone worked alongside Malachi "Pat" MacGarry at Buck's Club when it first opened just a few years earlier in June 1919 may have some bearing on this.

MacGarry being the originator of the Sidecar is further reinforced by the first printed recipe appearing in Robert Vermeire's Cocktails How To Mix Them, published in May 1922, just a few months before Harry MacElhone's ABC of Cocktails.

Side-Car.
Fill the shaker half full of broken ice and add:
1/6 gill of fresh Lemon Juice.
1/6 gill of Cointreau.
1/6 gill of Cognac Brandy.
Shake well and strain into a cocktail-glass.
This cocktail is very popular in France. It was first introduced in London by MacGarry, the celebrated bar-tender of Buck's Club.

Robert Vermeire, 1922

Like so many classic cocktails, we will probably never know who created/named the Sidecar cocktail, but it appears to have been created by MacGarry in London and then popularised by Harry MacElhone at his Parisian bar.

In the 1938 French-language version of his book, Vermeire adds weight to French adoption claims by stating that the south of France was the drink's home. Before anyone suggests it, there is no evidence to support the Sidecar being "invented at the Carlton Hotel in Cannes."

Nutrition:

One serving of Sidecar contains 172 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 1.6 standard drinks
  • 22.06% alc./vol. (22.06° proof)
  • 22.1 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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Ryan Harrold’s Avatar Ryan Harrold
7th August 2024 at 09:40
When making the Sidecar, I personally find that 30ml of Triple Sec is a little too much and that 15ml of lemon juice isn’t enough, we’re as making a Sidecar with both 22.5ml of Triple Sec and lemon juice, with the Hennessy Vsop cognac or any cognac of your choice still being 45ml, which ends up making the Sidecar a more balanced and quite the tasty drink
Simon Difford’s Avatar Simon Difford
7th August 2024 at 11:04
Hi Ryan. Please see link to "Difford's Sidecar recipe" above. This is more in line with yours.
Dave Smith’s Avatar Dave Smith
26th February 2024 at 01:31
I made the original 1919 recipe, in the spirit of scientific history research. Used Meyer lemon which are not as sour as other varieties. The 3 ingredients balance each other nicely.
Stuart Davies’ Avatar Stuart Davies
21st August 2023 at 17:21
Definitely doesn’t need the sugar rim, although I haven’t tried it…
Perfectly balanced. I used a Camus VSOP and it was so good I had to have another
5th February 2023 at 23:37
My favourite cocktail of all time! However, I use 50ml Carlos III Solera, 25ml Cointreau & 25ml lemon juice, with a sugared rim. ??
7th August 2022 at 23:49
Not my favourite. It's not the proportions, it's just sort of a one-dimensional drink I find.
3rd May 2022 at 15:58
I finally made this using Pierre Ferrand Ambre, delicious if almost bone dry at times.
Michael McCormick’s Avatar Michael McCormick
22nd February 2023 at 01:05
New to cocktails but Death and Co uses PF Amber and Dry Curaçao but adds 5 ml of simple to offset the dry a little and add body.
Joakim Andersson’s Avatar Joakim Andersson
5th April 2022 at 17:39
Absolutely fantastic cocktail! Just make sure not to overchill it. I did this and all I could taste was lemon.
Patrick Brady’s Avatar Patrick Brady
8th October 2021 at 23:07
It's a classic for a reason. For me, the orange notes stand tall from the triple sec, with a touch of sour, and a little sweetness. You really don't want to overdo the sugar syrup here if you decide not to go with the sugar rim.
G. M. Genovese’s Avatar G. M. Genovese
28th October 2020 at 01:41
Supremely crowd-pleasing measures... For my taste, I reduced the Cointreau from 30 to 25 ml and it reached a better balance. I also used ice (4-6, inch-sq cubes) straight from the freezer, as I like my cocktails a bit more punchy and strident. Still yielded more dilution than anticipated, but I may have finally found my bliss with this, one of my faves.
Lee Clarke’s Avatar Lee Clarke
16th April 2020 at 20:29
3 week extension to lockdown in the U.K. so decided to celebrate with one of these! Never had one before but really enjoyed. Half rimmed the sugar rim and it 100% makes the drink. Make one.