If you’ve never been to Sidecar, a classic, tin-ceiling bar and restaurant in the South Slope that serves excellent cocktails and eclectic food without an ounce of stuffiness, next Wednesday, March 26, is your chance. From 6:30-9 pm, you’re invited to the second installment of the Cocktail Club, which I’ll be co-hosting with local blogger Louise Crawford of Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn.

First item on the agenda: two cocktails made with the super smooth, triple-distilled Milagro Tequila that you can sample for free. The first, the Paloma, is a classic drink the margarita made obsolete: tequila and grapefruit juice shaken with agave nectar and topped with soda, which co-owner Bart DeCoursy made a little less sweet with a dash or two of bitters (minus the tequila, it’s a perfect virgin cocktail for any non-drinker). The second, Fausto and the Devil (pictured), is the spicy-sweet creation of a Sidecar bartender, who took tequila, OJ, lime juice, simple syrup, and a drizzle of grenadine and gave it some heat with a barspoon of hot sauce and a slice of serrano pepper.

Agenda items 2-6: to meet, eat, talk, hear the DJs The Rich Girls are Weeping, and discover a truly great Park Slope spot that the DeCoursy brothers opened last summer. Both had their own expertise to share: John was a former chef at Blue Ribbon, and Bart, between writing screenplays, was a bartender at O’Connor’s for 10 years. (That’s why he looks so familiar!) Contrary to what you might think, that dive bar — which uses fresh ingredients, not mixes for its cocktails — is where Bart first learned the art of mixology. A few books by Dale DeGroff and Gary Reagan schooled him even further, which, if you haven’t tried his drinks yet, will be evident on Wednesday night.

RSVP for yourself and anyone you’d like to bring (just hit reply or email brooklynbased@gmail.com). I hope to see you there!

Sidecar, 560 5th Ave. between 15th and 16th Sts., near the F and M/R trains at 4th Ave. & 9th St., and the Prospect Ave. M/R, 718-369-0077, sidecarbrooklyn.com

Sent by Nicole