The Upgraded Royal Side Car

The sidecar cognac cocktail was a creation of the 1920’s. There are conflicting accounts, however, regarding the inventor of the sidecar. Some say it was named after a motorcycle sidecar and invented at the Ritz Paris in 1923, but made popular in London. Others claim it was created by a British bartender in 193fyears1. Others still trace the origin of the side car to Harry’s Bar in Paris in 1933. This version has Harry MacElhone serving up a Cognac, Cointreau and lemon concoction at the request of an army captain who approached the bar in a motorcycle’s sidecar.

While the stories regarding the origin of the sidecar are different, the basic sidecar recipe is the same – Cognac, lemon juice and triple sec (orange-flavored liqueur). In recent years, Cognac Houses and mixologists have offered recipes that include ever finer cognacs to be used as the base in the sidecar recipe. There is the Hennessy Sidecar that calls for Hennessy V.S.O.P Privilege or the Bentley Sidecar that utilizes Hennessy X.O. cognac.

The Rémy Martin Royal Sidecar

Rémy Martin, a producer of Fine and Grand Champagne Cognacs has created an upscale sidecar recipe that uses Rémy Martin 1738 Accord Royal cognac. Rémy Martin describes the cognac cocktail as timeless, opulent and sophisticated.

Here is a video from Rémy Martin that shows how to make a Royal Sidecar. You’ll see it’s amazingly simple and easy to mix:

Cognac.com Cocktail Corner

To make a Rémy Martin Royal Sidecar you will need:

Cognac

Rémy Martin 1738 Accord Royal

Cointreau
or
Cointreau Noir

Lemon juice

Coupe glass