The Bourbon Sidecar cocktail takes the classic Sidecar to new heights by replacing cognac with bourbon. Follow our easy Bourbon Sidecar recipe and craft one at home in just five minutes.
Our exploration of bourbon cocktails has taken a twist. A lemon twist to be exact.
The bright flavors in the classic Sidecar speaks to us as we stand on the cusp of a new season. While winter hasn’t let go, we see glimmers of spring with each day lasting a bit longer than the last.
But, with a lingering chill in the air, bourbon speaks to us as well. Hence our decision to craft a Bourbon Sidecar instead of a classic Sidecar.
What Is A Sidecar?
The Sidecar joined achieved classic status in 1948. That’s when David A. Embury included the sour bourbon martini in the short list of cocktail classics featured in his The Fine Art of Mixing. The Daiquiri, Jack Rose, Manhattan, Martini and Old Fashioned round out this list.
Buy a copy of The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks from Amazon.
The classic Sidecar recipe is both simple and sophisticated with just three ingredients – cognac, orange liqueur and fresh lemon juice. While some mixologists use brandy or Armagnac instead of cognac, we decided to craft ours with Kentucky bourbon.
We’re not the first to craft a Sidecar cocktail with bourbon and we certainly won’t be the last. Nor will the first Bourbon Sidecar be our last Bourbon Sidecar. The tasty tipple has earned a permanent spot on our at home cocktail rotation.
History Of The Sidecar
Depending on what you read and choose to believe, the Sidecar cocktail was either invented in London or Paris. We choose to believe that it invented in Paris at Harry’s Bar which, if true, makes the Sidecar a French cocktail.
We can at least be certain that the Sidecar was invented in the early 1920s soon after Prohibition ended and that it was named after a motorcycle sidecar. Or was it?
Ingredients
The Bourbon Sidecar fits into our lazy mixology playbook with an incredibly short list of ingredients that includes:
Selecting the right liquor is critical in a cocktail with just a few ingredients. We chose to use Four Roses Bourbon and Cointreau to craft our Bourbon Sidecar.
Four Roses is a great cocktail bourbon since its flavors are relatively mild with hints of both vanilla and caramel. It’s also one of the more affordable bourbons produced in Kentucky and has a 40% ABV, the lowest possible ABV for Kentucky bourbon.
Discover our favorite bourbon cocktails.
Cointreau is our go-to orange liqueur for cocktail recipes that call for orange liqueur or triple sec as well as for some that don’t. We like Cointreau’s balanced flavor. Ironically, it also has a 40% ABV.
Discover our favorite Cointreau cocktails.
How To Craft A Bourbon Sidecar Cocktail
We didn’t realize how easy it is to craft a Bourbon Sidecar until we crafted one at home. Not only is the ingredient list short, but no special tools or gadgets are required. The only required tools for this recipe are a jigger, cocktail strainer and Boston shaker. We already have all three in our home bar. Hooray!
We like to coat the rim of our martini glass with sugar when we craft Bourbon Sidecars at home. This extra step adds a sweetness to the sour cocktail that we prefer.
If you’ve never created a sugared rim before, rest assured that it’s easy. You just need to rub the glass rim with a lemon wedge before dipping the glass onto a plate topped with sugar. You’ll want to rotate the glass a few times until it’s properly coated.
If you’ve chosen to sugar your glass rim, set the glass aside. It’s now time to craft the cocktail.
The first step in our Bourbon Sidecar recipe is to measure the bourbon, orange liqueur and lemon juice. We do this with a jigger but you could use a mini angled measuring cup instead.
Buy a Japanese jigger from Amazon if you need a jigger or want an inexpensive upgrade. That’s what we did.
As you measure each liquid, pour it directly into your cocktail shaker. We use a Boston shaker which has literally changed our mixology life for the better. It’s as easy to use as it is to clean and it doesn’t leak. Hooray again!
The second step is to add ice to the shaker and vigorously shake the drink until it’s both chilled and combined. After about 30 seconds, use a strainer to strain the liquid into a cocktail glass. We use a small martini glass for this cocktail though a coupe glass would work equally well.
Buy two Riedel martini glasses from Amazon.
The final step is to garnish your cocktail with a lemon twist.
Pro Tip
Peel the lemon skin before you squeeze juice from the lemon.
Variations
After you follow our Bourbon Sidecar recipe, you may be satisfied to drink this version forever. However, if you’re keen to experiment, we recommend starting with the following options:
Discover 10 essential bar tools for the home mixologist.
Frequently Asked Questions
Bourbon, Orange Liqueur, Lemon Juice and Ice Cubes
You should use your favorite bourbon in this cocktail recipe. We typically use Four Roses but any bourbon will work just fine.
The Bourbon Sidecar is shaken, not stirred.
We like to serve this cocktail in a small martini glass but you could use a coupe glass instead.
Did you craft this cocktail? If so, please rate the recipe below.
Bourbon Sidecar Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 ounces bourbon
- 1 ounce Cointreau
- ½ ounce lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
- granulated sugar (optional for sugar rim)
- lemon peel (garnish)
- ice cubes (for shaking)
Instructions
- Combine bourbon, Cointreau and lemon juice in a shaker.
- Add several ice cubes and vigorously shake are chilled and mixed.
- Strain into a martini glass. (Coat rim with sugar in advance if you choose to add the optional ingredient.)
- Add a lemon twist as garnish.
Pro Tips
- We like to use a martini glass for this recipe but a coupe glass would work too.
- As an option, you can coat the glass rim with sugar to cut the drink’s tartness.
Estimated Nutrition
Thirsty For More Bourbon Cocktails?
About The Authors
Daryl & Mindi Hirsch
Saveur Magazine’s BEST TRAVEL BLOG award winners Daryl and Mindi Hirsch share their culinary travel experiences and recipes on the 2foodtrippers website. Since launching the site in 2012, they’ve traveled to over 40 countries in their quest to bring readers their unique taste of the world.
Original Publication Date: February 26, 2021
Phyllis
Wednesday 29th of September 2021
Lemon juice is listed as an ingredient but not in instructions.
Daryl and Mindi Hirsch
Thursday 14th of October 2021
Thanks for your feedback. We have updated the recipe card accordingly.
Margaret Myers
Friday 26th of February 2021
Your recipe says Gin. I thought it was a recipe for a Bourbon Sidecar. Total lack of attention. Boo.
Daryl and Mindi Hirsch
Saturday 27th of February 2021
Thanks for alerting us to the error since, as noted in the article, we do NOT recommend using gin in this cocktail.
D.M.
Friday 26th of February 2021
Probably a typo, but I noticed that the recipe has gin listed, not burbon. Looking forward to trying it though
Daryl and Mindi Hirsch
Saturday 27th of February 2021
Definitely a typo and fixed. Thanks for the heads up and happy drinking!
Doug Loverro
Friday 26th of February 2021
Daryl & Mindi
Great article/recipe, until I got to the very end where you say under no circumstances to use gin, but then have the actual recipe mis-printed specifying "gin" instead of "bourbon". This is what happens when you mix Freud with liquor :-)
Doug
Daryl and Mindi Hirsch
Saturday 27th of February 2021
I (Mindi) clearly had gin on the brain since I even crafted this bourbon drink with gin the first go-around as alluded in the article. I have fixed the error and appreciate you alerting us to it. Now I'm wondering what Sigmund would think of this slip...