The rocket science of a Sidecar

The biggest problem with a booze blog is that to keep it going, u need to keep drinking. Nevermind. For quite a long time I have been drinking straight and had almost given up cocktails. I mustered myself upto make one this friday and it happens to be a Sidecar - it cant get more classic than this. I have written about it befoe but still, a Sidecar is the father of all sweet and sour drinks for here it started all. The whiksey sour, the margarita, the daiquiri are some of its improvisations or shall we call close cousins.

The basic rule of the sweet and sour cocktails is this - 1 of sour (lime), 2 of sweet (syrup), 3 of strong (alcohol) and 4 of week (ice). The numbers represent the potions. Change the ingredients but retain the characterstic and you will have all the variations/cousins like I mentioned before.

When I reached upto my bar this Friday, this is what I found. Lime juice, Orange liquer, some left over Brandy, and nice Angoustra Bitters lilliput. I like bitters in almost all my drinks, its what I call the salt of cocktails.






Traditionally a sidecar is made of cognac but i shall use its poorer cousin brandy today and the sweet in the drink comes from Cointreau (liquer made from orange peels). Unfortunatly I left my shaker at my friend`s place last time i took my kit there, so I substitute it with a gym sipper and man it works just fine. I use a BIG margarita glass to make this one and pour all ingredients after shaking them with ice.


About Shank

Shank is a cocktail enthusiast & a self-proclaimed mixologist. He likes to experiment with spirits. He has traveled around a bit visiting hundreds of bars and tasting the buzziest of alcohols, cocktails and shooters.



Shank spent early years of his dizziness in Mumbai. He has lived in Hyderabad for long and for the past few years is chilling his glass in Bangalore.



He is currently busy spreading his love for spirits through this blog - Cocktail Nirvana.



This blog is part of his ongoing quest for fine spirits, creative cocktails and classic mixology. These online journals will capture his cocktail inventions, adventures with alcohol, trips to bars, meeting with ace mixologists, lessons in the art of drinking and much more.

This apart, ignoring good judgment, the fine folks at www.mybangalore.com also allow him to take up valuable space on their portal with his words & pictures.

Away from Nirvana