It's New Year's eve and it's time for a classic cocktail!
It's funny because I'd always heard of this cocktail but never tried one. We were recently on a cruise, and the drinks were included for "free". As I waited patiently at the bar to get our drinks, a young gal next to me started chatting about what my favorite drinks were so far. So far? Heck, I'd been drinking the prosseco and not much else. She told me that she and her boyfriend were working their way through the cocktail menu... omg, how smart is she? She mentioned her faves and we parted ways. When I got back to our 'game table' with our buddies, I started to peruse the cocktail menu. A Sidecar? Hmmmm.... anything with Grand Marnier is good with me, so I tried one. WOW! I love them!
We've been home over the holidays and since it was New Year's Eve, started talking about having a cocktail. We searched through the liquor cabinet, looking for brandy with no avail. However, we did find an almost empty Courvoisier bottle. Perfect! Cognac is a type of French brandy.
Please note, some recipes call for Triple Sec instead of Grand Marnier. Both are mostly citrus liqueurs but I whole-heartedly recommend the Grand Marnier instead!
Makes 1 serving
Ingredients
1 jigger cognac, or brandy
1/2 jigger Grand Marnier, or Cointreau
1/4 jigger of lemon juice (i used a 1/2 jigger, as i like it sour)
You can pour this over ice in a martini shaker and drink it 'straight up' like I have photographed, but it is also delicious over ice in a double . A sugared rim is traditional for a Sidecar, but I skipped that here.
A jigger is one of those metal measuring cups that bartenders use, but any measuring cup would work, just keep the ratios. I easily doubled this recipe....2 jiggers brandy, 1 jigger Grand Marnier and 1 jigger lemon juice.