Grape & GrainSidecar’s a cocktail with a 100-year history, though who invented it isn’t clear

The Sidecar, now almost a century old, is one of the more improbably named of the classic cocktails.

It gets its name from the detachable passenger carriers that used to be attached to the sides of motorbikes.

Now the Martell cognac house has converted one of those wheeled sidecars into a mobile bar, dispensing the liquid type. It is currently set up in Stockton, in Hong Kong’s Central district, fuelled by a draught version of the time-honoured marriage of cognac, lemon juice, and Triple Sec.

The bike/bar has been equipped with a chiller and tap system, configured along the same lines as a standard electric beer pump.

That means, of course, that the cocktail is premixed, but you can also order one prepared at the bar, where manager Suraj Gurung will shake for you either the French or English version.

“The original French recipe would have been equal parts cognac, citrus and orange liqueur,” he explains, “but the English recipe calls for more booze with two parts cognac.”