perfect bourbon sidecar

Have I ever told you about Sun Liquor? It’s this lovely little bar right down the street from our apartment. It’s the kind of place where you walk up to the counter, tell the bartender what you feel like, and let him go crazy. It’s also the kind of place where even the simplest of cocktails are made with the utmost precision.

It was here, not too long ago, that I discovered my love for bourbon. You see, I had a habit of turning my nose up at anything brown in the liquor department- blame it on too much spiced rum in college. But those Sun Liquor bartenders can be quite persuasive and when I said I wanted a drink with citrus, he said he was making a bourbon sidecar, and there were no two ways about it- I’m a real pushover, I know.

I apprehensively took that first sip and then I immediately had to have another. It seems that, when paired with freshly squeezed citrus, bourbon isn’t all that bad. In fact, it's really quite good. That same week I went out and bought my very own bottle of bourbon, vowing to give it another chance- which I did, several times over. So really, in a way, the Sun Liquor sidecar has been my gateway drug for many a bourbon cocktail. In fact, its what I’m going to be drinking for the rest of the winter. Starting riiiight… now.

Perfect Bourbon Sidecar

At home, I typically serve this drink in whatever glass I can find, but at Sun Liquor, they put it in a pretty sugar-lined martini glass. To be honest, I like it so much that I would most likely drink it out of the bartenders cupped hands, so feel free to serve it any way you like.

1 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice plus extra for rim of glass

1 ounce good bourbon ( I like Bulleit)

1 ounce Cointreau

Sugar for rim of glass (optional)

Prepare your glass by rubbing the rim with a little lemon juice. If desired, place glass rim side down on a plate with sugar and twirl it around until the edge of glass is lightly covered in sugar. Fill a shaker with ice and add the lemon juice, bourbon, and Cointreau. Put the lid on tight, flex your muscles, and shake the heck out of it- this will get you the pretty pieces of ice on the surface of your drink. Fill your glass and sip away. Recipe makes one cocktail.

Recipe from The New York Times

**Congrats to Jaclyn from Cooking Classy for winning the Eleven Madison Park Cookbook!! If you haven't seen her lovely blog head on over and check it out now!!