Upgrade Your Sidecar Cocktail With A Bold, Daiquiri-Inspired Twist

Cognac, orange liqueur, and lemon juice are the ingredients in the classic, beloved cocktail known as the sidecar. These three simple components combine to make a drink that's both sweet and sour, taking drinkers back to the classy Jazz Age. However, given that the cocktail is likely more than a century old, your sidecar might occasionally feel like it needs at bold, 21st-century upgrade. The next time you're thinking of stirring up a batch, consider adding in rum for a daiquiri-inspired twist.

Also taking inspiration from a variant called the Boston sidecar, adding rum to this easy drink makes for a vibrant, summer-ready variation. The Boston sidecar typically usus lime juice, orange liqueur like Cointreau, rum, and brandy. Rum, particularly the white kind, works in this sidecar twist because of its light character and subtle sweetness. The sidecar can sometimes run tart, and the cognac or brandy provides a floral, spiced characteristic, with deep toffee notes as well. A white rum can lighten the cocktail in contrast, and most crucially, give it a rumor of tropical flavor.

The easiest way to upgrade your sidecar with rum is to halve the cognac or brandy and substitute the rest with white, otherwise known as light, rum. You can also try adding in both a dark and a light rum, as they can enhance each other's flavor. If you aren't sure where to begin with rum selection, read up on 13 different kinds of rum and what their differences are. Use this sidecar recipe for a starting point once you've wrapped your head around your rum choice. 

Want to go a step further? Try adding rum and apple cider to your sidecar for a double-dose upgrade that's perfect for fall, or play up the classic flavors of a basic sidecar by infusing your rum. Flavoring your light rum with oranges will achieve this end, while infusing the spirit with lime can help to emphasize the tropical, daiquiri undercurrent. Use this guide to infused liquors to get started. 

You can also keep your rum-enhanced sidecar simple and put the DIY effort elsewhere by crafting some homemade triple-sec-style orange liquor. Garnish the drink with a lime wedge or twist of lime zest to complete the daiquiri vibes, or go for orange or lemon, which are classic choices for both Boston sidecars and the classic version.