This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our affiliate policy.
A Sidecar cocktail has brandy or cognac, lemon juice, and orange liqueur, all shaken with lots of ice. It’s simple, sophisticated, and totally refreshing.
You could probably visit ten different bars and order Sidecars in all of them, only to get a slightly different drink every time.
There are two main “schools” of thought regarding the recipe, though:
- The French School, which uses equal parts cognac, cointreau, and lemon juice. This version is pretty sweet.
- The English School, which uses two parts cognac, and one part each of cointreau and lemon juice.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
Ingredient notes
- Cognac or brandy: Cognac must be made in the Cognac region of France. Brandy, however, can be made anywhere. Hennessy, Korbel, Presidente, are all fine choices for a mixed drink.
- Orange liqueur: Triple Sec, Cointreau, or Grand Marnier.
Step-by-step instructions:
- In cocktail shaker filled with ice, combine Cognac, Cointreau, and lemon juice.
- Then shake vigorously until chilled, about 30 seconds. Strain into chilled martini or coupe glass and serve.
Recipe notes and variations
- Glassware: Serve a Sidecar in a coupe glass or a small martini glass.
- Sugar rim: Spread some sugar on small plate, then rub a lemon wedge around the rim of chilled martini or coupe glass. Tilt the side of the glass in the sugar to lightly coat the outside rim of glass.
- Boston Sidecar: Reduce cognac or brandy to ¾ ounce, add ¾ ounce light rum, and substitute ¾ ounce lime juice for the lemon juice.
- Chelsea Sidecar: (aka Delilah or White Lady) Uses gin instead of cognac or brandy.
- Pisco Sidecar: Substitute 1 ½ ounces Pisco brandy for the cognac.
More tasty cocktails
Cocktail Recipes
Gimlet
Cocktail Recipes
Whiskey Sour
Cocktail Recipes
Brandy Old Fashioned
Cocktail Recipes
Tom Collins
Sidecar Cocktail
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 ounces cognac or brandy (3 tablespoons)
- 3/4 ounce orange liqueur or triple sec (1 ½ tablespoons)
- 3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice (1 ½ tablespoons)
- Ice as needed
- 1 orange twist for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Chill glassware if desired: Coat the outside of a glass with water and freeze until serving time. Or, freeze dry glassware for 2 to 3 hours before serving.
- To coat the rim of glass: Run a lemon wedge around the top of a glass. Then, dip the top of the glass upside-down in a shallow dish of sugar.
- Combine cognac, orange liqueur, and lemon juice in a cocktail shaker. Fill shaker with ice, cover, and shake until outside of shaker is very cold, about 20 seconds. Strain cocktail into prepared glass and garnish with an orange twist.
Notes
- Cognac or brandy: Cognac must be made in the Cognac region of France. Brandy, however, can be made anywhere. Hennessy, Korbel, Presidente, are all fine choices for a mixed drink.
- Orange liqueur: Triple Sec, Cointreau, or Grand Marnier.
- Glassware: Serve a Sidecar in a coupe glass or a small martini glass.
- Sugar rim: Spread some sugar on small plate, then rub a lemon wedge around the rim of chilled martini or coupe glass. Tilt the side of the glass in the sugar to lightly coat the outside rim of glass.
- Boston Sidecar: Reduce cognac or brandy to ¾ ounce, add ¾ ounce light rum, and substitute ¾ ounce lime juice for the lemon juice.
- Chelsea Sidecar: (aka Delilah or White Lady) Uses gin instead of cognac or brandy.
- Pisco Sidecar: Substitute 1 ½ ounces Pisco brandy for the cognac.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is the Executive Chef and CEO of Culinary Hill, a popular digital publication in the food space. She loves to combine her Midwestern food memories with her culinary school education to create her own delicious take on modern family fare. Millions of readers visit Culinary Hill each month for meticulously-tested recipes as well as skills and tricks for ingredient prep, cooking ahead, menu planning, and entertaining. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the iCUE Culinary Arts program at College of the Canyons.
Finally a recipe for today’s stress relief!
Hi Dave, this is a PERFECT cocktail for that! – Meggan