Sidecar Cocktail

The Sidecar Cocktail

2 oz brandy (Macieira)

1 oz Cointreau

1/2 oz lemon juice

I decided to come back to the Sidecar because I remember it being a particularly delicious drink the first time I made it (confirmed) but also because I wanted to make a comparison between using Cointreau and some cheap Triple Sec I picked up recently.

Sipping the Cointreau and Triple Sec reveals vast differences in these two drinks. The Triple Sec is much much sweeter, in fact sweetness is about all that comes through. The Cointreau is much more nuanced and complex, not as sweet and more than twice as alcoholic. I wanted to see how the two would come through in a composed cocktail.

I thought the difference was huge, Marta not so much. The higher alcohol of the Cointreau and the sweetness of the Triple Sec is what I think immediately set these drinks apart. After a few more sips the Sidecar with the stock Triple Sec sort of falls flat on the pallet where I found the Cointreau Sidecar much more interesting and enjoyable to drink. Marta also enjoyed the one made with Cointreau more than that with stock Triple Sec, however I don't think she was nearly as turned off by the Triple Sec as I was due to her sweet tooth.