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Classic Side Car

Cognac is my drink of choice, Armagnac to be more specific, both of which are types of brandy.

Cognac is to brandy what Champagne is to sparkling wine," Charlton said. By that, he means that Cognacmust be made in the Cognac region of France, while brandy can be made anywhere in the world.

~Jack Charlton, Brand Ambassador for Rémy Martin

This is 100% related to being Croatian growing up drinking brandy for every occasion large and small.

Weddings, baptisms, funerals, holidays, birthdays, Sundays, Mondays, you get the idea. In Croatian culture there is always a reason to celebrate with a shot of brandy.

It was a couple of summers ago when my parents came to Ottawa that I started to drink cognac on ice with a splash of water as my drink (I tend to drink more cognac when my parents are around - celebration!) Then I discovered Armagnac, which I find smoother and more caramelly than cognac, and this discovery lead me to find all the cocktails that I could use brandy as a base. Enter: the classic Sidecar cocktail.

It’s a great drink all year round but I find it particularly nice in the winter because the warming quality of the Armagnac, the sweetness of the orange liqueur and the bite of fresh lemon juice all feel perfectly cozy for a cold winter night at home. Melissa

2 oz. brandy (Armagnac)

1 oz. orange liqueur (Cointreau)

1 oz. fresh squeezed lemon juice

lemon twist for garnish

optional: sugar rim

Peel one or two lemon skins for garnish before cutting in half to juice.

Juice the whole lemon, put aside 1 oz. and save the rest for later.

If you want a sugar rim, do that now. You can use the juice lemon to moisten the edge of the glass, the tip, roll and turn.

Fill your cocktail shaker with ice.

Add brandy, orange liqueur and lemon juice.

Shake well.

Strain into your favourite cocktail glass. Garnish and enjoy!