The Five Best Cognacs to Make a Sidecar With

Cognac

Anyone who enjoys a good alcoholic beverage probably knows what a sidecar is. If you haven’t tried one yet, you don’t know what you’re missing. This drink is a bit different from most. It involves using cognac, Triple Sec and lemon juice. Obviously, the cognac needs to be robust enough to offset the lemon juice. Otherwise, you end up with something that tastes unbalanced and even unpleasant. That’s why it’s so important that you choose your cognac accordingly. Like any other type of alcohol, the brand that you get can make all the difference in the world. Some people are particularly fond of one brand while others practically swear by another. That can make it hard to know exactly which one you should be choosing, especially if you’ve never had this particular drink before. Fortunately, you’ve come to the right place. Below are five of the best cognacs that you can use for a sidecar.

5. Bertoux

This particular brandy is manufactured in California, aged in French Oak barrels for anywhere from five to seven years before it is made available for purchase. It’s important to remember that cognac is essentially brandy that has been aged in these types of barrels. That’s what gives it its distinct flavor. In this particular case, you get a smooth beverage that has some fairly robust hints of vanilla. It’s just enough to offset the taste of the lemon juice without being so overpowering that it’s the only thing you can taste. As a result, it works very well in a sidecar or any number of other cocktails, as you might discover later on.

4. Torres 15- Year Brandy

This is one of the more well-defined types of brandy that you might choose to utilize in a sidecar. Just like other brandies, it has also been aged in the French Oak barrels for a number of years. As a matter of fact, it sits in these barrels a lot longer than most of the versions made by the competition. As a result, it has a deeper, more robust flavor but at the same time, it’s also considerably smoother. If you’re looking for individual hints of taste, you can find some notes of vanilla as well as toffee. When mixed properly, you almost pick up on some hints of smoked wood. It goes very well with both the lemon juice and the orange flavor of the Triple Sec that is included in a sidecar.

3. Grand Brulot VSOP Cognac Cafe

What makes this particular cognac so special? For starters, it’s infused with coffee. Any coffee lover will tell you that cognac and coffee make an absolutely splendid combination, so why not choose a cognac that’s already been infused with your favorite caffeinated beverage? You might be thinking that this probably wouldn’t work so well in a sidecar, but the result is rather surprising. In fact, the notes of coffee and the intense, robust flavor work very well when offsetting the citrus flavor of the orange and lemon. It’s exactly what you need in order to create a balanced drink that tastes great without allowing any of the ingredients to be so strong that they overpower one of the others. How do you make the best sidecar with this particular cognac? It’s easy. You take 2 ounces of cognac, an ounce of Triple Sec, and .5 ounces of lemon juice and mix them together. It only takes a few seconds and before you know it, you have a drink that you will probably come to love so much that it will become one of your go-to favorites each and every time. When you choose to make a sidecar with this particular cognac, you have an added benefit of getting as much caffeine in one drink as you would get with a single shot of espresso. It’s sort of like killing two birds with one stone, isn’t it

2. Hennessy VS Cognac

People in the know will tell you that this particular brand of cognac doesn’t always get a fair shake. It has become so immersed in popular culture that people have started to write it off as opposed to recognizing its actual quality. However, most bartenders would also tell you that it would be a mistake to do so. In fact, this is the go-to cognac for a lot of those bartenders when making a sidecar. Why is that the case? It largely comes down to the fact that the brandy used to make it is left in the French Oak barrels for a minimum of eight years. That gives the Hennessy cognac very noticeable depth. It’s robust, but not overpowering. You can taste strong hints of vanilla and even oak, but it’s pleasurable on the palate. The best part is that it works very well when cutting through the tart citrus flavor of the lemon juice. If you don’t choose a cognac that’s strong enough to stand up to it, the lemon juice is all you’re likely to taste. That’s not something you ever have to worry about when you’re using this particular brand.

1. Pierre Ferrand Selection des Anges Cognac

There are plenty of things that make this one special, aside from the fact that it is aged for 30 years as opposed to the typical eight years of most cognacs. If that’s not enough to get your attention, consider this. This brand of cognac feels creamier than almost any other brand available. Along with your typical hints of vanilla and oak, you can also taste hints of licorice with this one. It goes very well with the other ingredients used to make a sidecar and for that reason, it is the one that people typically turn to when they want to make something that is truly special.

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