Sliders & Punch

Sliders & Punch

by Andrew ("the Alchemist")

If I make a cheeseburger small enough to be considered a slider, is it not still a cheeseburger?  If I serve it on the same platter I might use to serve hors d’oeuvres, does it then cease to be a cheeseburger?

I’m pretty sure most would agree that a slider is a burger, even though it is smaller than the traditional size.

Then why is it a surprise to some that the Sidecar is a punch?

It has all of the traditional elements of punch: aromatic (the lemon twist), sour (the lemon juice), sweet (the sugar in the liqueur), strong (the brandy), and weak (the dilution added when shaking – which is considerable).

You can’t make a drink that is more-elementally a punch than the Sidecar.  Does its elemental nature change just because it is made one portion at a time and served in a glass that it borrowed from the cocktails?