The Sidecar

The first recipes for the Sidecar appear in 1922, in Harry MacElhone's Harry's ABC of Mixing Cocktails and Robert Vermeire's Cocktails and How to Mix Them.

It is thought to have been invented at Harry's New York Bar in Paris around 1920. It was said to be named after a U.S. army captain who always arrived at the bar in a motorcycle sidecar.

It is one of six basic drinks listed in David A. Embury's The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks (1948). In early editions of MacElhone's book, he cites the inventor as Pat MacGarry, "the popular bartender at Buck's Club, London", but in later editions he cites himself. Vermiere states that the drink was "very popular in France.

It was first introduced in London by MacGarry, the celebrated bartender of Buck's Club." Embury credits the invention of the drink to an American army captain in Paris during World War I and named after the motorcycle sidecar that the captain used. Both MacElhone and Vermiere state the recipe as equal parts cognac, Cointreau, and lemon juice, now known as "the French school". Later, an "English school" of sidecars emerged, as found in the Savoy Cocktail Book (1930), which call for two parts cognac and one part each of Cointreau and lemon juice.

Emury recommends the proportions 8:2:1, making a much-less-sweet sidecar. However, Simon Difford, in his book Encyclopedia of Cocktails, notes Harry Craddock's ratio of 2:1:1 in The Savoy Cocktail Book, and then suggests a middle ground between Craddock's recipe and the "French School" equal parts recipe of 3:2:2, calling Embury's daiquiri formula "overly dry" for a sidecar.

The earliest mention of sugaring the rim on a sidecar glass is 1934, in three books: Burke's Complete Cocktail & Drinking Recipes, Gordon's Cocktail & Food Recipes, and Drinks As They Are Mixed (a revised reprint of Paul E. Lowe's 1904 book).

In Harry MacElhone's Harry's ABC of Mixing Cocktails, he use 1:1:1 ratio.

For my recipe, I use the 2:1:1 ratio of Cognac, Triple Sec or Cointreau, and lemon juice. I haven't yet tried it, but I would consider rimming the glass with sugar using lemon juice to moisten the rim.

Source: Wikipedia.