My favorite drink is the Sidecar. The story goes that it was invented by an American army captain at Harry’s New York Bar in Paris during or just after World War I. He used to show up in a motorcycle sidecar, and thus the cocktail was named Sidecar. However, this is probably just a story. Slightly more plausible is that “Sidecar” refers to leftover spirits from making drinks in bars and that it was named as such in 19th century New Orleans.

What is known is that it rose to fame at Harry’s, that it’s been listed in cocktail books since 1922 and that there are two distinct schools of making it. Both the French and the English version uses the same ingredients but in different proportions. The Cognac, Triple-Sec (specific brand Cointreau) and lemon juice are mixed in equal proportions in the original French version while the earliest references to the modern proportions of two parts Cognac to one part Triple-Sec and one part lemon juice comes in Savoy Cocktail Book from 1930. It’s called the English version.

The Sidecar is balanced, sophisticated, easy to like but never boring; I can sip Sidecars for an entire night. I think it’s the perfect cocktail, you can serve it to anyone and probably no one will think it’s bad, but not everyone will appreciate the subtleties of it either. Some might think it’s too sweet, but then you know that you don’t have to serve dessert to that person either. Some don’t like balanced – and that’s the way it is I guess.

However, when you’ve experimented with ratios and liquor brands and have found your perfect Sidecar there’s still room for variation. I’ll give two examples here besides my Ultimate Sidecar, one is the most famous variation and the other my own summertime version.

Ingredients for the Sidecar.

The Ultimate Sidecar

I prefer my Sidecar just a tad less sour than the English proportions and I also find it important to find good lemons. Bad technique in squeezing lemons, pressing or rubbing the inner skin to hard, or unripe lemons can easily lead to a slight bitter balance that can’t easily be fixed with sugar. I also find that Cointreau on it’s own is not sweet enough so I like to mix it with simple syrup. A final touch is to use a mix of Cognac and fine, aged rum which I think gives a a little more complexity and nuance.

The Cable Car

Tony Abou Ganim is one of the most famous mixologists around, credited with bringing back serious cocktail making to Las Vegas from his work with the Bellagio’s drink program and his work as a consultant within the industry. Before Bellagio he worked at the Starlight Room atop Sir Francis Drake’s Hotel in San Francisco. He developed this variation on the Sidecar as a signature drink inspired by the Nob Hill Cable Cars running outside the hotel.

For me the Cable Car brings back memories of Moroccan Oranges (slices of oranges with sugar and cinnamon sprinkled over) from my childhood in the 90’s. It’s a cocktail that’s easy to like; layered and tropical with the exceptional balance of the Sidecar. Try it in the summer and watch the sun set. I can’t quite get past the cinnamon orange combo to believe that this is the best drink there is, but try it for yourself.

The Dinghy

One of my most proud concoctions (along with the non-frozen strawberry daiquiri) is the Dinghy, named after the companion vessel to a yacht and obviously referring to the sidecar of a motorcycle. This one is actually quite deep-layered with many layers of scent and taste and is really the Cable Car pushed farther into the world of dark spices without the orange and cinnamon. Notes of vanilla, coffee caramel and dark chocolate makes it feel like something you sip in the shade on a Caribbean island at the same time it shows the sophisticated, balanced feel of the Sidecar. If you think that Captain Morgan is only good for Rum and Coke, try this one.

The Sidecar in the back, Cable Car with the frosted rim and Dinghy with its dark, amber color.