Un Cocktail Avec Intensite — The Intense Ginger Sidecar
When you hear the phrase “baby it’s cold outside” you know what comes next is going to be good. Ok, actually my wife said “it’s cold so let’s have a drink that’ll warm us up, maybe with ginger?” But what happened next is quite good.
Inspired by something on the cocktail menu at Mortons, this cocktail is simply a Sidecar, which was created in France, with ginger liqueur. It’s not really a cold weather cocktail (as far as I’m concerned it is a year round cocktail), but when the temperature is dropping it will warm you up.
The Intense Ginger Sidecar
1.5 ounces VSOP or XO brandy
.75 ounces Barrows Intense ginger liqueur
.75 ounces Cointreau
Juice from 1/4 lemon
Combine in a shaker with ice, shake like you’re in the midst of the most intense (use your imagination) of your life, and strain into a chilled glass.
This combination will give you a noticeable, but not overwhelming, taste of ginger. If you’re like me and love ginger, I suggest you make this with equal parts of booze (one ounce each of brandy, Barrows Intense, and Cointreau). If you can’t get your hands on a bottle of Barrows Intense, use Domaine de Canton, but keep in mind the ginger flavor is not as strong (although the proof is higher).