Martini Sidecars Level Up a Classic

While tricked-out martinis—with balsamic vinegar, pickled grapes, and even squid ink—are all the rage these days, the classic martini never goes out of style. And at some area restaurants, including Peter’s Inn, The Ruxton, Cece’s of Roland Park, and Wye Oak Tavern in Frederick, classic is taken a step further with sidecar service, meaning there’s a small, single-serve carafe of alcohol on the side.

Sidecar service is believed to harken back to the 1940s with Joseph Drown, founder and then-owner of the Hotel Bel-Air. Drown put his own spin on the drink by introducing the idea of a sidecar, basically a drink refill nestled on a small bowl of ice, as an accompaniment to keep the cocktail cold. To make it even more elegant, the whole affair was placed on a silver tray.

At Peter’s Inn, which has always been known for its martinis (not to mention garlic bread and general quirkiness), co-owner Karin Tiffany wanted a drink that would make a splash when the rowhome restaurant reopened after a fire led to its closing in 2017.

When the renovated biker bar reopened in the fall of 2018, Tiffany leaned into nostalgia by serving the drink (4 to 4 1/2 ounces of gin or vodka), its accompanying sidecar (another 4 ounces of alcohol), and a quintet of skewered garnishes (pepperoncini, cornichon, olives, pickled onion, and a caperberry) as an homage to the past.

“Ever since COVID, people are nostalgic,” she explains.

Of course, the drink makes quite the impression when it’s served. “People are a trip, man,” Tiffany says—especially first-timers. “They come in and they’re like, ‘Are we in the right place? Did we just make a grave mistake on a Saturday night?’ But when the drink arrives, you can see the tension leave their face and they’re like, ‘We are all settled down. It’s going to be okay.’”