Between the Sheets
30 ml Cognac, 30 ml White rum, 20 ml Triple sec, 15 ml Lemon juice, 1 Lemon twist
Photo: Sidecar Cocktail in a Sugar-lined Nick and Nora Glass by AGnias47 · CC BY 4.0 · All credits
Ingredients
Measures below are multiplied for 6 drinks. Unmeasurable amounts such as “a splash” are left as written.
- 300 ml Measuring jug A measuring jug: pour to the 300 ml line. Cognac
- 120 ml Measuring jug A measuring jug: pour to the 120 ml line. Triple sec
- 120 ml Measuring jug A measuring jug: pour to the 120 ml line. Lemon juice
- 30 ml Jigger One small side (25 ml) of a standard jigger, plus a teaspoon. Sugar - For the rim (optional)
- 6 twists Orange twist (optional)
Measured in Millilitres (UK). Sign in to read these in American measures. Print a kitchen card at this size.
What the jigger, the spoons and the jug hold, in millilitres and in fluid ounces, is on the measures reference.
Quick version
- Shake the three with ice and strain into a sugared coupe.
Method
Pitcher (6 drinks)Pitcher (6 drinks) - about 570 ml of measured ingredients, before ice and dilution.
Timings and per-glass steps below are written for one drink and are not scaled. A full jug takes longer to chill, so stir or shake until it is properly cold rather than by the clock, and pour over fresh ice one glass at a time.
- Rub the rim of a chilled coupe with a piece of lemon and dip it in sugar, then put it back in the freezer.
- Shake the cognac, triple sec and lemon juice with ice for 12 seconds.
- Strain into the prepared coupe.
- Twist an orange peel over the top and drop it in.
Serve it
Volumes in this story are multiplied for the size above, along with the ingredients. Years, ratios and the capacities of glasses and jugs are left as written.
Sidecar
The Sidecar grew up in Paris and London at the end of the First World War, and its parentage is disputed in the usual way: one story says an American army captain rode to the bar in a motorcycle sidecar, another says the bartender at the Ritz named it after his own. What is certain is that it is the Cognac cousin of the Margarita and the White Lady, and that a good one is one of the most elegant drinks there is.
Getting it right
The sugar rim is the argument of the cocktail world. Purists leave it off on the grounds that the drink is already sweet; the rest of us take it on the grounds that the first sip should be sweet and the second sharp. Both camps are right, so rim half the glass. Use a decent cognac rather than a cheap one - it is half the drink - and keep the lemon fresh.
Tasting notes
Bright lemon and orange oil, brandy warmth underneath and a whisper of sweetness from the rim. It is a drink that feels like a good suit, and it is worth making for somebody you want to impress.
More Cognac cocktails
Brandy Alexander
30 ml Cognac, 30 ml Crème de cacao, 30 ml Double cream, 1 pinch Nutmeg
Horse's Neck
40 ml Cognac, 120 ml Ginger ale, 1 dash Angostura bitters, 1 Lemon twist