sidecar, sloecar

Mixology Monday is a seriously underrated event in the blogosphere. If you’re even remotely interested in cocktails and mixed drinks you can learn so much from the knowledgeable bartenders and cocktail connoisseurs who take part.

This month’s theme is Variations and the idea is to take a traditional cocktail and either present it in its various recipes or else tweak it with your own touch. Our host is Jimmy’s Cocktail Hour so head on over to learn about some traditional cocktails and all their variations.

So what did I choose? Well, I love sour flavours so I wanted to focus on the delicious Sidecar.

Said to be invented at Harry's Bar (or the Ritz) in Paris around WWI, and named after a patron who would arrive in a motorcycle sidecar, the Sidecar contains three ingredients: brandy, triple sec and lemon juice.

As the ingredients are few, their quality will effect the final drink and so many people use Cognac and Cointreau as the brandy and triple sec.

Measurements seem debatable and I have seen over ten variations including
1½ parts brandy
½ part triple sec
½ part lemon juice
or
2 parts brandy
¾ parts triple sec
½ part lemon juice

But these are just the original ingredients and there are many other variations using flavoured liqueurs or substituting brandy for gin or vodka. Interesting variants include the Chelsea Sidecar (gin replaces brandy); the Polish Sidecar (blackberry liqueur replaces triple-sec and gin replaces brandy) and the Boston Sidecar (rum and brandy are used and lime replaces lemon).

A few months ago, when drinking at The Victoria Room here in Sydney, I stumbled upon a drink called the Sloecar, which was divine. Using sloe gin it was a very simple take on the successful Sidecar recipe. I was hooked.

Sloe gin is a red liqueur made from fruit from the blackthorn tree. Traditionally gin is infused with pricked berries and sometimes almond is added. Folklore even decrees that the berries should be pricked with a thorn from the blackthorn tree, or a silver fork, to ensure good luck.

This website gives instructions on how to make your own sloe gin.

Gordon’s and Plymouth make decent commercial sloe gins while the German style Schlehenfeuer (sloe fire), which is higher in alcohol content, is produced by Mast-Jägermeister.

Sloecar
Anna’s guess on the recipe. Makes 1.
Ingredients:
2 parts sloe gin
1 part Cointreau
1 part lemon juice
Ice
Method:
Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice, shake and strain into a cocktail glass.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidecar_(cocktail)
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/suttonelms/sloe%20gin.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sloe_gin

Tags: morsels and musings food blog food and drink australia recipes drink cocktail sidecar sloecarsloe gin gin sloe gin recipes gin recipes cocktail recipes drink recipes sidecar recipes sloecar recipes