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Sweet Murray River Sidecar

Imagine strolling home along the long dusty road after a hard day in the fields. At the crossroads you encounter a gaggle of tow-haired youngsters sitting at a card table. “Sidecar, mister?” they shout. The sidecar is a lemonade drink for grown-ups. A touch of salt opens up the entire experience, makes it restorative. Citrus playing tag with sugar, chilled juice teeter-tottering with warming alcohol, the entire drink alloyed with salt’s wisdom and captured beautifully in a glass of coppery liquid.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    serves 1

Ingredients

1 three-finger pinch Murray River flake salt
1 tablespoon sugar
3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice, plus more for wetting rim
1 1/2 ounces Cognac or good brandy
3/4 ounce triple sec
1 strip lemon zest

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Combine the salt and sugar on a flat plate. Wet the rim of a highball glass with the lemon juice. Place the glass upside down on the plate to rim it with the salt and sugar. Put the glass in the freezer.

    Step 2

    Combine the Cognac, triple sec, and the 3/4 ounce lemon juice over ice in a shaker and shake well for 5 seconds. Remove the glass from the freezer and strain the drink into the glass. Garnish with a twist of lemon zest. This drink can also be served on the rocks: pour ice and liquor into an old-fashioned glass rimmed with the sugar-salt mixture.

Salted
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