The Perfect Sidecar

The sidecar is one of my favorite cocktails—tart and just a little sweet, it’s warming in wintertime and refreshing in the summer. You can replace the Cointreau, a lovely liqueur made from bitter oranges, with another orange liqueur such as (not-blue) curaçao or even triple sec ... but then it wouldn’t be quite perfect. Fresh lemon juice is a must; bottled leaves an unpleasant aftertaste. And as always with cocktails that are shaken over ice, use lots and lots of good-sized ice cubes, an