The Sidecar Cocktail

Prep: 3 mins
Cook: 0 mins
Total: 3 mins
Serving: 1 serving
Yield: 1 cocktail

The deliciously tart World War I-era sidecar is one of the best classic cocktails you can mix up at home or order at a bar. The mixture of brandy, orange liqueur, and lemon juice is as popular today as it was a century ago when it was popularized, and it's a brilliant introduction to the allure of well-balanced sour drinks. Plus, it's really easy to make—you just shake the three ingredients over ice until well chilled, pour them into a cocktail glass with a sugared rim, and garnish with a lemon or orange twist.

The Best Brandy and Other Key Ingredients for a Great Sidecar

As with any simple cocktail, for the best sidecar, choose the best ingredients. Here's what you'll need.

  • Brandy or other liquor: The original sidecar recipe was made with either cognac or Armagnac, which are both types of French brandy. Either will create one of the most enjoyable brandy cocktails you can mix up. In the modern bar, bourbon is often poured instead of brandy—making it technically a bourbon sidecar—and some drinkers enjoy it with premium cherry brandy. We recommend starting with cognac to get the true sidecar experience. Choose a cognac with a balanced flavor, such as Hennessy, Pierre Ferrand, Camus, H By Hine, or Rémy Martin.
  • Orange liqueur: The second of the three key components of a sidecar is an orange liqueur such as triple sec. Many cocktail enthusiasts insist on Cointreau (a brand of triple sec), but feel free to experiment with other top-shelf triple secs or homemade orange liqueur.
  • Lemon juice: The final component of a classic sidecar is lemon juice. For the best sidecar, freshly squeezed lemon juice is a must. A single lemon should yield about 1 3/4 ounces, more than enough for two drinks. If you plan on adding a twist to garnish your cocktail—a great idea—make the lemon twist before you juice the lemon.

How (and When) to Serve a Sidecar

The sidecar is great as a before- or after-dinner drink, so serve it anytime you want. The cocktail is typically served in a chilled cocktail glass. A popular embellishment first mentioned in recipes from the early 1930s, a sugar-rimmed glass, adds a sweet contrast to the sour drink. You can rim the entire glass with sugar for a little sweetness in every sip or just rim half the glass if you prefer a more tart drink. A lemon or orange twist is also usually added to garnish the cocktail.

The Murky History of the Sidecar

As most cocktail origin tales go, there are a few stories about who mixed up the first sidecar and where it was made. One common story is found in The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks (1948) by David Embury. It says that the drink was developed in a Parisian bistro—likely Harry's New York Bar—during World War I. Another claim attributes the drink to Frank Meier, who worked at the Paris Ritz Hotel around the same time.

The next story credits the drink to Pat MacGarry of the Buck's Club in London (also the supposed home of the French 75). In his 1922 book, Harry's ABC of Mixing Cocktails, Harry MacElhone—the owner of Harry's New York Bar in Paris—credits the drink to MacGarry, one of the great bartenders of the day. This was backed up in Robert Vermeire's 1922 Cocktails and How to Mix Them.

It is important to note that MacElhone owned Harry's New York Bar and that he also credits Buck's Club for the French 75 in his book. While he was a popular bartender of the day, he was also (apparently) honest and did not take credit for many of the drinks that are often attributed to him.

While which story is correct will no doubt remain a matter of debate, there's no question that the sidecar is a classic sour drink. Sours were popular during the golden age of cocktails in the early 1900s. Other great sour drinks were created at the same time, including the brandy daisywhiskey sour, and margarita.

Why's the Drink Called a Sidecar?

Just like the history of the sidecar, how the drink got its name is a matter of some debate. One story goes that the drink was first served to an army captain who rode up to a bar in a motorcycle sidecar. Others say the sidecar is named after the little extra bit of a drink leftover in a shaker that a bartender will pour into a shot glass alongside a cocktail.

Tips for a Great Sidecar

  • Seek balance: Whichever base liquor you choose for your sidecar, be careful with the cocktail's other ingredients. It is very important to find the balance between sweet and sour, and too much lemon or liqueur can quickly destroy the intended flavor.
  • Serve it cold: A well-made sidecar should be very cold. Chill the cocktail glass and shake the drink over ice until the outside of the shaker feels cold.
  • Take notes: As you experiment with different types of brandy and orange liqueur, as well as different ratios of the three core ingredients, write down how you made each drink so you can dial in the recipe for your perfect sidecar.
Sidecar cocktail

The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

"The sidecar is a fantastic classic cocktail. Traditionally made with luxurious cognac, it is bright, tart, and refreshing. Mid-shelf cognacs work just great in a sidecar, sometimes even better than pricey ones. Heavily aged spirits can lose their subtlety in cocktails." —Tom Macy

The sidecar cocktail tester Image
A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

  • 2 ounces brandy, cognac, Armagnac, or bourbon

  • 1 ounce premium triple sec

  • 3/4 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice

  • Lemon or orange twist, for garnish

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients to make a sidecar cocktail

    The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

  2. Pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice cubes. Shake well.

    Brandy, triple sec, lemon juice, a cup of ice, and a cocktail shaker

    The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

  3. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

    A sidecar cocktail

    The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

  4. Garnish with a lemon twist. Enjoy.

    A sidecar cocktail garnished with a lemon zest twist

    The Spruce Eats / Julia Hartbeck

Recipe Variations

  • Some people enjoy their sidecar with equal amounts of Cointreau and lemon juice; the pour is typically 3/4 ounce of each. The sweet-sour balance may need to be adjusted depending on the brands and styles of brandy you use.
  • Some prefer to add a dash of simple syrup to take the edge off the tartness. Try a teaspoon of 2:1 demerara syrup.
  • For a cocktail that's just a touch sweeter, try Spain's brandy de Jerez.
  • Pour the South American brandy pisco for a pisco sidecar.
  • The sidecar has influenced many other cocktails. Some are also classics, while others are modern creations that play off the sour formula. The most popular recipes are the Boston sidecar, Chelsea sidecar (aka Delilah or white lady), and between the sheets. You can also pour vodka instead of brandy for a balalaika. You can also add flavors to the mix—the blackberry sidecar and épicé sidecar (with jalapeño syrup) are two interesting cocktails to try.

How Strong is the Sidecar?

Short drinks like the sidecar are served at such low volumes because they are heavy on the liquor and rather potent. With an 80-proof base liquor, the average sidecar weighs in around 26 percent ABV (52 proof). This is in line with similar cocktails like the martini and Manhattan.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
203 Calories
0g Fat
10g Carbs
0g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 1
Amount per serving
Calories 203
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 7mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate 10g 3%
Dietary Fiber 1g 3%
Total Sugars 8g
Protein 0g
Vitamin C 11mg 55%
Calcium 10mg 1%
Iron 0mg 1%
Potassium 36mg 1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)