Sidecar

This evening, to accompany watching Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby with my mother- and father-in-law, I made classic Sidecars. A Sidecar is essentially 1 part Cointreau, 1 part lemon juice, and 2 parts cognac. Note, as is often true, some prefer other ratios like 1:1:1; I do not because I find it too sour. A Sidecar is shaken and served in a cocktail glass with a sugared rim if you are feeling fancy.

As for the drink, a Sidecar is a good opportunity to discuss Cognac. Cognac is type of brandy. Brandy is made by distilling wine, and by wine I mean anything made from fruit juice. Hence, Calvados is apple brandy, Slivovitz is plum brandy, etc. Cognac is brandy made from grapes, produced in the Cognac region of France. Cognac has three grades: VS, VSOP, and XO. So what do the letters mean? VS Cognac must be aged for at least 2 years in wood, VSOP for at least 3, and XO for at least 6. (I can't promise this is right, but frankly, if you really care, you can google it yourself).

The important thing to know that, for any normal cocktail, VS is appropriate and XO Cognac should really be sipped on its own. If you are interested in getting to know Cognac a bit better, I'd suggest exploring the after dinner drinks section of the menu at your next nice meal.

Note that while non-Cognac brandy might say VS, VSOP, or XU, I do not believe there is any regulation of those terms, so they are meaningless. The regulation of Cognac (and my complete ignorance about American brandy) is why I just buy Cognac rather than other grape brandy.

Sidecars are important because some say they originated at Harry's Bar. Harry's is important both because of its clientele (Bogart, Gershwin, Hemingway) and because it is said to be the birthplace of a number of classic cocktails including the Sidecar, Bloody Mary, and French 75. A Sidecar is also an important drink because it is a good example of a cocktail made with a spirit, a liqueur, and citrus which is common theme we'll see again when I make a Gold Rush (so stay tuned).

Most importantly, while Sidecars are not rally the appropriate accompaniment for Talladega Nights (that would be Bud Heavy), they are delicious.