History of the Sidecar Cocktail
Travel Distilled discovers the history of the Sidecar cocktail, which may have been invented during Prohibition in the USA, or more likely in Paris or London.
Photo by Melissa Doroquez
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Prohibition in the USA, which happened from 1920-1933, was a strange thing. More alcohol was drunk during Prohibition than before it, which seems to defeat the point of it. In New York there were twice as many speakeasies during Prohibition than there had been bars before it.
On top of that, it wasn’t illegal to drink alcohol, or even to buy it, but it was illegal to sell it, which did make it hard to buy it. And if people were found in possession of alcohol it could be confiscated, though if the alcohol was in barrels it couldn’t be confiscated because the barrel was the legal property of the owner and there was nothing illegal about owning barrels.
History of the Sidecar Cocktail
So where does the Sidecar come in? Well, another consequence of Prohibition was that it was responsible for the creation of a number of cocktails. One way that this happened was that a lot of US bartenders, rather than work illegally, took the opportunity to go and work in Europe, especially in cities like London and Paris.
There they either collaborated with European bartenders and came up with new cocktail ideas, or they came across new ingredients and created cocktails to make use of them… or they simply ‘borrowed’ cocktail recipes from the bars they worked in or frequented and brought them back to the USA when they returned.
Where Was the Sidecar Invented?
That’s why many cocktails have complicated histories, with various people claiming to have invented them, and the Sidecar is no exception to that. It has been described as the best cocktail to come out of Prohibition – so thank you to the Women’s Temperance Crusade and other Prohibition advocates!
On the other hand, the Sidecar might have been invented in London. Or in Paris. Or it may have existed all along and been invented in New Orleans in the 19th century.
How Did the Sidecar Get Its Name?
One thing on which several of the stories agree is that the cocktail was indeed named after the sidecar of a motorbike. Sidecars were invented in the early 1900s and first went on sale in 1914, so if the Sidecar was invented in the early days of Prohibition, sidecars would still have been a novelty and would seem like an original name for a cocktail.
What Is a Sidecar Cocktail?
The Sidecar is a cocktail made with cognac, orange liqueur, and lemon juice. On that we can agree. But the exact recipe ratio varies depending on who you believe and which type of cognac you use. Some people also substitute brandy for cognac.
There are also different orange liqueurs you can choose from, such as Cointreau, Grand Marnier, triple sec, and dry curaçao, for example. The taste of the Sidecar will vary depending which you choose to use.
Official Sidecar Cocktail Recipe
If you want some kind of official recipe for a Sidecar, then you can use the one recommended by the International Bartenders Association:
Ingredients
5 cl cognac
2 cl triple sec
2 cl lemon juice
Preparation
Pour all ingredients into cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.
Again, the taste will vary depending upon your choice of cognac. These days a lot of bartenders rim the glass with sugar, though this was a later refinement.
When Was the Sidecar Cocktail Invented?
Now things get tricky. All I can do is repeat the various claims and leave you to decide which you prefer.
One story is that it was invented by well-known bartender Harry MacElhone, owner of Harry’s New York Bar in Paris. He published a recipe for the Sidecar in his 1919 book Harry’s ABC of Mixing Cocktails. It’s said that he made it for an American army captain who arrived at the bar in the sidecar of a motorbike and asked for a pre-dinner drink. Harry suggested a cognac, but the captain didn’t want a neat spirit so Harry came up with the Sidecar.
Alternatively, an American bartender named Frank Meier also claims to have invented the drink at around the same time. He was working at the Ritz Bar in the Ritz Hotel, only a five-minute walk from Harry’s New York Bar, so who knows?
The fact that Harry MacElhone actually published a recipe in his book gives a bit more credence to his claim, on the face of it, except that in early editions of his book he says the Sidecar was first created by a London bartender, Pat MacGarry, at Buck’s Club, the place they invented the Buck’s Fizz. In later editions, MacElhone changed this to claim that he invented the Sidecar. Hmmm…
Stories that the Sidecar was invented during Prohibition may or may not be true. It’s far more likely the recipe crossed the Atlantic from Paris or London and became popular in the USA during Prohibition.
The Further History of the Sidecar Cocktail
The Sidecar is also simply a variation on a 19th century cocktail called the Brandy Crusta, which was invented in New Orleans by bartender Joseph Santini in his bar, Jewel of the South. This cocktail used brandy rather than cognac, and added a dash of bitters and some maraschino liqueur. Otherwise the two drinks are pretty similar, and the Sidecar may have emerged as a simple twist on the Brandy Crusta.
Whatever the true history of the Sidecar, it’s stuck around and become a classic cocktail… and a delicious one.
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