Sidecar Cocktail

Bartender Jeffrey Morgenthaler writes in his new book, The Bar Book (click the link for my review), that the Sidecar was the first drink that he got to know.

I've made this drink before and found it to be too tart, but Morgenthaler has the perfect solution for this. Rather than making the drink with a sugar rim around the glass, he adds simple syrup, a much more consistent way to sweeten the drink.

Sidecar
Adapted from The Bar Book by Jeffrey Morgenthaler

Note: to double-strain a drink, strain first through a Hawthorne strainer if using a Boston shaker (or the attached strainer of a cobbler-style shaker), then through a fine-mesh sieve held over the glass while pouring.

1 1/2 oz. cognac
3/4 oz. Cointreau
3/4 oz. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp 2:1 simple syrup (I instead used 2 tsp. of 1:1 simple syrup)
Orange peel (garnish)

Combine cognac, Cointreau, lemon juice and simple syrup in a cocktail mixing glass. Fill with ice and shake until cold. Double-strain into a chilled coupe glass. Twist the orange peel over the surface of the drink and drop into the glass.