Basically a Sidecar with gin swapped for the Cognac, the Chelsea Sidecar is rarely, and perhaps unfairly, absent on most menus in the United States. “It sort of falls in the middle,” says Harrison Ginsberg, “It’s too simple to appeal to most cocktail enthusiasts and at the same time, most gin lovers will opt for a Martini or a Gimlet.”
To remedy this, Ginsberg has made some key adjustments. “Though the original calls for a traditional London dry, we opted for Roku, a Japanese gin with bright citrus notes of coriander, sancho peppercorn, green tea and yuzu,” he explains. To buttress the lemon juice and the orange-flavored Cointreau, the team at Overstory also make a mandarin oleo saccharum. “The original recipe can be too lean and too taut so the syrup rounds out the drink,” says Ginsberg.
Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker and dry shake without ice.
Add ice and shake again.
Strain into a coupe or cocktail glass.
Express a lemon twist over the surface of the drink and garnish with a drop of lemon, lime and orange oils.
Editor's Note
Mandarin Oleo Juice of 1 mandarin orange
Peels of 6 mandarin oranges
1 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 cup hot water
1 teaspoon salt
Combine the sugar, salt and peels in a non-reactive container. Mix well to release the oils from the peels. Let sit for at least 1 hour, up to 24 hours at room temperature. Slowly add the hot water, stirring as you go to dissolve the sugar. Once all or most of the sugar is dissolved add the mandarin juice. Mix to incorporate. Bottle, Label and store for use.
