Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Food & Drink

This sidecar drink recipe has only 3 ingredients (so get yourself some good tequila!)

Great tequila always matters

Christopher Osburn
By
Avion
Avion

There are many classic cocktails drinkers seem to gravitate toward. We’re talking about the Manhattan, old fashioned, margarita, and even the daiquiri. But others sometimes don’t get the respect they deserve. The sidecar is one of those drinks. Simply put, the classic drink consists of only three ingredients: cognac, orange liqueur, and lemon juice. It’s simple, elegant, and extremely easy to make. It’s the kind of drink you learn and you make often for your friends and family. It’s a flavorful, complex, citrus-driven mixed drink that absolutely should be on more cocktail menus.

The history of the sidecar

While its true genesis is shrouded in mystery (like most classic cocktails), cocktail writer David A. Embury wrote in his 1948 book Fine Art of Mixing Drinks that it was first created during World War I at a bar in Paris. He said that a friend of his invented it and named it after the motorcycle sidecar that he rode in.

Recommended Videos

Many believe that iconic bartender Harry MacElhone was the friend who created the drink at Harry’s New York Bar in Paris. He even published a recipe for the drink in his cocktail book, which was written in 1919. That’s not the only story about the sidecar’s creation, though. An American bartender named Frank Meier claimed to have invented the drink in the same time period at the Ritz Hotel, also in Paris.

Related

Regardless of who invented this classic drink, it’s been around for more than one hundred years and remains just as nuanced, warming, and flavorful as it was a century ago. There’s a reason that even though it’s not on the top of the list, it’s still listed among the most classic cocktails ever conceived. But, with over one hundred years of history, isn’t it time to try something different and breathe a new life into this classic cocktail?

The folks at Avion Tequila think so. That’s why they came up with a tequila-based sidecar called the Extra Añejo Side Car. As you might have guessed, the drink swaps out the cognac for extra añejo tequila. Yes, you read that right: tequila. While cognac is known for its fruity, vanilla, and toffee flavors that pair well with the ingredients, tequila, with its vegetal sweetness, herbaceous notes, oak, spices, and barrel complexity, brings the drink to a whole new level.

For those who don’t know, the tequila used in this drink, Avión Reserva 44 extra añejo tequila, isn’t your average, sweet agave mixing tequila. It’s been aged for at least 36 months in oak barrels. This imparts whiskey-like aromas and flavors of caramel, vanilla, roasted agave, spices, and dried fruits. It’s the perfect complement to the orange liqueur and fresh-squeezed lemon juice in this drink. Keep reading below to see an updated sidecar drink recipe.

Avion
Avion

Extra Añejo Side Car

Ingredients:
1 1/3 OZ / 1 1/3 PARTS Avión Reserva 44
2/3 OZ / 2/3 PARTS Orange Liqueur
2/3 OZ / 2/3 PARTS Fresh Lemon Juice

Preparation:

Add all ingredients to a shaker filled with ice, shake to chill, and double strain into a chilled coupette glass. We recommend that you don’t rim the glass with sugar, but it’s optional.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Christopher Osburn
Christopher Osburn
Writer
Christopher Osburn is a food and drinks writer located in the Finger Lakes Region of New York. He's been writing professional
Matthew McConaughey’s hit new tequila brand is selling out
Apparently, tequila enthusiasts think it's alright, alright, alright
TEQUILA FINALLY GETS A KICK IN THE PANTS - MATTHEW AND CAMILA MCCONAUGHEY INTRODUCE PANTALONES ORGANIC TEQUILA

 

Most people know Matthew McConaughey from his various acting roles in films like Interstellar, Dazed and Confused, and his myriad romantic comedies. But in recent years, the Texas-born actor has begun to make a name for himself in the alcohol world.

Read more
The whisky regions of Scotland: Each has its own history and flavor profile
Your cheat sheet to Scotch whisky regions
Whisky

Scotch whisky beginners might take a sip of two or more drams from random distilleries and assume all of it tastes the same. This thought process couldn’t be further from the truth. But there are reasons why they can’t imagine that there are different types of Scotch whiskies. This is likely because they haven’t yet refined their palate to the various nuances of the spirit and because there’s a good chance the whiskies are from the same region. Thus likely making them taste similar.

If you didn’t know it already, there are more than 120 distilleries in Scotland, grouped into five different whisky regions (as well as one more that is often thrown in there) in Scotland. Each one has its flavors, styles, and history. They are the Highlands, Lowlands, Speyside, Islay, and Campbeltown. Some people also add in “The islands” because Scotch is produced on Jura, Arran, Orkney, the Isle of Skye, and other islands off the coast of Scotland. Those islands also fall under the Highlands region.

Read more
The gin cocktail recipes you can’t live without
Anytime is a good time for a gin cocktail. Here are some of the best recipes to try
Tom Collins cocktail

Any season can be gin season. Unlike some other spirits, gin is great year-round. Maybe it's the fragrance, maybe it's the many botanicals that go into the stuff. Maybe it's great year-round because we simply just want a good cocktail.

If you're mixing up whiskey cocktails or engineering tequila drinks, more power to you. We simply encourage you to embrace gin and not just as the ball and chain to tonic. No, a good gin can do wonders in a number of cocktails, bringing fresh, herbal flavors to the mix and working great with high-toned additions like citrus and other fresh fruit.

Read more