Sidecar

I am not a famous writer. However, as the taxi pulled up to one of the oldest hotels in the city I felt like Hemingway or Fitzgerald arriving in Monte Carlo. Needless to say I don't think Fitzgerald ever wore a clip-on bow tie. Yet with all my faux cosmopolitan accoutrement I was in for a fantastic evening with surprisingly delicious company.

Bellying up to the bar in my penguin suit I looked at the overpriced menu and scanned who my date would be tonight. Would she be the elegant but simple Vodka Gimlet? Would she be a fiery and temperamental Old Fashioned? Or would she even be the loud-mouthed surly knockout known as the Alabama Slammer? I had dated all of these once or twice before. I was sick of their predictabilty.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw her. There, sandwiched between the genteel Mint Julep and the lively Mojito she stood. The Sidecar. Passed over for more well known, media hyped, sexier drinks she is rarely taken out regularly. However, through the course of the night, I realized this Cognac based gem would light up my life.

According to legend she originated in Paris during the disruptive period of World War I. American soliders in need of a little rest and recouperation would return from the frontlines of the battlefield to the bistros of Paris. There an army captain developed the drink. He named it after the sidecar with which he was chauffered to and from the bars and clubs of the city.

She is deceptively simple yet attractive in her cocktail glass. The bartender set the glass in front of me chilled and dipped in sugar. In his shaker he pours one part Cognac, one part Cointreau, and one part lemon juice. Sealed with the jigger he shakes repeatedly while my anticipation swells. Strained into the glass she is ready for the evening. She even comes with a garnish of lemon rind to add flair to her slender body.

As we danced the night away I enjoyed her subtle sweetness with a slight tartness which was plesantly received. She did not have the bite of other bourbon or whiskey women I had in the past. And she wasn't typical or commonplace like the vodkas of my memories. Unique, colorful, and sophisticated the Sidecar is one date I'll ask to take out again.