Cointreau

Smooth Operator

January 29, 2018 No Comments

The Sidecar cocktail is a sophisticated, classy concoction, so why is it so often overlooked?

Ritz Paris bartender Frank Meier may have invented the Sidecar in 1923. Ritz Paris photo.

The Sidecar is one of the great Prohibition-era classics, a boozy-but-vibrant three-ingredient cocktail that fulfills our desire for both the depth of brown spirits and the bright acidity of citrus. It should be a rock star among cocktails, yet where Old Fashioneds, tiki drinks and even the horrible Gimlet have made their comebacks, the Sidecar has somehow eluded its just recognition amid the modern cocktail revival.

It’s time for that to change.

Recipes

The Sidecar

January 29, 2018 No Comments

The original recipe called for equal amounts of Cognac, orange liqueur and lemon juice, but whether it’s the ingredients that have changed or modern tastes, today we prefer a version that’s heavier on the Cognac. If you can’t afford the real thing, use as good a quality brandy as you can.

Recipes, The Alchemist

Blood Orange Sidecar

November 10, 2017 No Comments

Serve your cocktails in old-fashioned coupe glasses. iStock photo

Blood oranges are in stores right now, but not for long. They are delicious in any of the traditional sours, especially in this juicy variation on a classic Sidecar.

INGREDIENTS:
1.5 oz (45 mL) Cognac or brandy
1 oz (30 mL) Cointreau
0.5 oz (15 mL) lemon juice
1.5 oz (45 mL) blood orange juice

METHOD:
Place all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well. Fine strain into a chilled cocktail coupe. Serves 1.

The Alchemist

Complement your home bar with versatile liqueurs

March 3, 2017 No Comments

Liqueurs are an essential finishing touch for any home bar. Joanne Sasvari photo

One could argue that without liqueur, a drink isn’t a cocktail. It’s just booze in a glass.

Recipes

Tomillo Margarita

January 31, 2017 No Comments

Created by Alicia Whitfield

• 1.5 oz mezcal
• 0.5 oz Cointreau
• Dash of agave syrup
• 2 lime wedges squeezed
• 2 oz. grapefruit juice
• 1 sprig of thyme
• Salt

Recipes

German Burnt Punch

November 12, 2016 No Comments

A take on the traditional Feuerzangenbowle

• 1 sugar cube
• 0.25 oz Bacardi 151 over-proof rum
• 1 oz Asbach German brandy
• 1 oz Cointreau
• 3 oz fresh orange juice
• 0.5 oz fresh lemon juice
• 0.25 oz vanilla syrup (such as Giffard)

Classics, Recipes

Don the Beachcomber’s Mai Tai

October 23, 2016 No Comments

Donn Beach—a.k.a. Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt, a.k.a. Don the Beachcomber—reportedly invented his version of the drink in 1933, when it was called a Mai Tai Swizzle.

• 1 oz gold rum
• 1.5 oz dark rum
• 1 oz (30 mL) grapefruit juice
• 0.75 oz lime juice
• 0.5 oz Cointreau or triple sec
• 0.25 oz falernum
• 6 drops Pernod
• Dash of Angostura bitters
• Mint sprig to garnish

Classics, Recipes

Trader Vic’s Mai Tai

October 22, 2016 No Comments

Victor Bergeron, founder of Trader Vic’s restaurants, claims to be the originator of the Mai Tai, back in 1944. This is his version of the drink.

• 2 oz aged rum
• 1 oz fresh lime juice
• 0.5 oz orgeat syrup (such as Giffard)
• 0.5 oz Cointreau or Curaçao
• Mint sprig to garnish