Triple Sec: The Sidecar

A sophisticated sour, the Sidecar is a cognac classic made famous at Harry’s Bar in Paris and many drinking disciples have taken the cocktail pilgrimage to this hallowed shrine.

What makes it such an enduring drink? Perhaps because it showcases the versatility of the brandy, the complexity of cocktails and the skill of using three ingredients to create something this tasty. It epitomises the art of mixing drinks.

No-one is sure who created the cocktail but Harry’s New York Bar in Paris is more than a haphazard stab in the dark. Not necessarily for the invention, since when it came to fruition the bar’s charge at the time Harry MacEllhone gave credit to Pat MacGarry of Buck’s Club in London. But certainly for the rise in popularity – and it’s the reason why, today, the drink and bar are synonymous.

So while a few of us might sip a Sidecar to forget the past, Harry’s New York Bar in Paris is worthy of a backward glance, a remnant of a most memorable period in cocktail history.

Today you can still soak this history up in uber authenticity at Harry’s, and so rich in nostalgia is the bar that whenever I’ve wandered in I’ve been warped through the doors courtesy of a time travelling Delorian.

It opened as the New York bar on Thanksgiving Day in 1911 after American jockey Tod Sloan had a bar dismantled and shipped from New York to Paris.

He subsequently signed up Harry MacElhone for cocktail duties, a Scottish barman from Dundee who bought the bar in 1923 and it would stay in his family until today, the current owner, Isabelle MacElhone, is the widow of Harry’s grandson Duncan.

The classic décor of the bar remains in tact today, complete with photos and pennants from the American Colleges, and while it remains a favourite with the Americans you’ll note patrons from every corner of the world now meet here.

They make the drinks to the original specs, equal parts brandy, triple sec and lemon – which can be a bit tart.

You can play with the theme to find your own preference, over the years many others have including Harry Craddock at the Savoy who recommended two parts Cognac to each of the others.

Sidecar

Glass: cocktail

2 oz. Cognac
1 oz.

1oz Ferrand Dry Curacao

1oz fresh lemon juice

Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled glass. Garnish with a lemon zest.