Sidecar — Paris' most elegant drink is named after a motorcycle

Paris’ most elegant drink is named after a motorcycle attachment — and that’s the real story.

Ingredients

• 2 oz cognac
• 1 oz orange liqueur
• 1 oz fresh lemon juice
• Garnish: a lemon twist
• Garnish: to go classic

Method

Start by rimming your coupe with sugar — run the lemon around the edge, then dip it in sugar. Skip this if you prefer it clean. Add the cognac, orange liqueur, and lemon juice to your shaker with ice. Shake hard for twelve seconds — you want this cold and properly diluted. The cognac needs that dilution to open up and show its character. Double strain into your prepared coupe. The double strain matters here because cognac cocktails should be silky, not cloudy with ice chips.

Serve

Serve this up in a coupe with no ice. Express the lemon twist over the surface — you want those oils hitting the cognac — then drop it in.

Pro Tip

Don’t cheap out on the cognac. You don’t need XO, but avoid anything you wouldn’t sip straight. The entire drink hangs on that brandy, and harsh cognac makes a harsh Sidecar. VS Cognac from a decent producer like Hennessy or Rémy Martin will give you everything you need — fruit, oak, and enough complexity to stand up to the citrus without getting buried.