This Cocktail "Cures" the Common Cold

Some of you — infectious disease specialists, GPs, and mixologists — will recognize this prescription as the Brandy Sidecar.

It's the sidecar cure for the common cold, and it rests on sound science— or at least it rests on something that sounds like science. This remedy relies on a formidable, yet delicious, three-prong, triple-whammy approach:

As the cocktail enters the body,

1. The invigorating brandy confronts the cold virus with an 80-proof punch to the face, while

2. the fresh lemon juice fortifies the body with vitamin C, and

3. the sweet, orangey Cointreau, a magic elixir made with the peels of bitter oranges, unleashes its own mysterious healing powers upon the system.

This cure is a well-tested (at least in my house). Certainly, the Sidecar feels like it's doing a body good: coursing along, scouring the cruds, wiping out toxic troublemakers. Invariably, the aches abate. The sniffling subsides. Overall worldview improves by leaps and bounds.

OK, yes, results may be based largely on perception. But don't knock perception. The placebo effect is real, people. Of course, your actual doctor's opinion about all of this may vary...significantly.

Check out our complete list of dubious cures in our Cocktail Recipes collection.