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\n\t\tIf there\u2019s anything that\u2019s been consistent about this site in its near-20 years of beaming (babbling?) hypertext to servers and back to you, it\u2019s that I\u2019m very bossy when I get into something new, especially cocktails. When I fell in love with Porch Swings, I wanted you to as well. Ditto for Blood Orange Margaritas (but only when in season), a Perfect Manhattan era that spanned over a decade, Boulevardier that has been woven into almost every year since, and a Slushy Paper Plane phase last year. This past winter and spring still, it\u2019s been Sidecars, 1920s-era cocktails with about as many conflicting stories as my kids regale us with when they didn\u2019t do their homework.<\/p>\n
In the one I find the most amusing, an American army captain in World War 1-era Paris would apparently roll up to a bar in a motorcycle sidecar \u2014 I have many questions including: who was the driver? \u2014 and became a regular at H\u00f4tel Ritz Paris or possibly Harry\u2019s New York Bar, depending on who is telling the story. The captain would order a mix of cognac, orange liqueur, and lemon juice and eventually, bartenders named the drink after his particular vehicular quirk.<\/p>\n
In other origin stories, bartenders serve the drink with a little extra leftover from the cocktail shaker poured into a second glass\u2026 that they called the sidecar. Again, maybe it\u2019s true, but I\u2019m a skeptic, albeit a bemused one. I\u2019m far more interested in its taste. I saw it referred to as the French cousin of a margarita, and honestly, I get it \u2014 it\u2019s strong (from cognac), bright (from lemon), and slightly sweet (from orange liqueur) but balanced, as daisy drinks often are. Typically the sidecar is served with a sugared rim which I find completely unnecessary for taste (it is sweet enough) but cannot resist the way raw sugar gets a golden glint to it and include it here. We all need a little extra sparkle sometimes, right?<\/p>\n
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\nP.S. My cookbooks are on sale through the wonderful, independent Porchlight Books and if you order any one, two, or three of them, they will include a Mother\u2019s Day card signed by me (and occasionally my 10 year-old). Order by Monday 4\/27 to get the gift(s) in time for 5\/10. [Smitten Kitchen Cookbook Sale]<\/p>\n