As a classic pre-Prohibition cocktail, people have been enjoying the Sidecar for more than a century. The classic recipe calls for just cognac, triple sec, and lemon juice, but from these simple ingredients comes a fruity, complex drink with flavors of citrus that has fallen a bit out of fashion in recent decades but which deserves to be better known.
Some variations on the drink like to add ingredients like aged tequila, which can help to add more robust, woody flavors that work well with the triple sec and lemon. But there’s another variation that the Sidecar-curious might like to try, which swaps out the cognac for Calvados. If you don’t know Calvados, it’s a French brandy — so not too dissimilar to cognac — but as it is made from apples (or, sometimes, pears) it has a fruitier, bittersweet flavor that works great with many combinations of ingredients.
You’ll most often see Calvados drunk as a digestif after a meal, usually sipped neat or served over ice. Sometimes you’ll find it served with coffee as well, with a few drops added to a strong black coffee to give flavor see in many French restaurants and cafes. But its fruity flavors make it great for adding to cocktails as well, and it marries naturally with citrus in the Sidecar.
Calvados Sidecar
Ingredients:
- 1.5 oz Boulard Calvados VSOP
- 0.75 oz Bauchant Orange Liqueur
- 0.75 oz Lemon Juice
Method:
Pour the orange liqueur with lemon juice and Calvados into a shaker. Shake with ice and strain into a glass. Garnish with orange zest.
