Maiden's Prayer or Between the Sheets | 23 down 252 to go

Maiden's Prayer with edible flower garnish

Pussyfoots, Cubanolas, and Bosom Caressers are just some of the cocktails that kept the Maiden’s Prayer & Between the Sheets company during Prohibition.  There’s a lot of interesting info H & M share about cocktails & culture during this era.  I started to include it in this post, but it was going too far afield.  Instead, it can be found at this Cocktail Chat entry instead.

This is a sort of twofer.  When made with gin, it’s the Maiden’s Prayer and an aperitif.  When brandy is the base, it’s a digestif and called Between the Sheets.

It pays to make this one as a true top shelfer.  I mixed Hendrick’s gin, Bacardi light rum, & Cointreau.  If you can find them, use sweeter Meyer lemons for the juice.  Your jaw will hit the floor when you get to the cashier, but for two rounds they’re worth it.  The MP is wonderfully citrusy, light, bright, with just a hint of tartness to give it some dimension.  And simpler it couldn’t be with equal parts of all ingredients.   After we finished the Meyer lemon juice our appetites were primed for dinner and off we went to one of our favorite bistros (the fact that the chef’s Dutch has nothing to do with the love affair, I’m sure :-)

After dinner we came home & decided to give the aperitif a try.  While we had to “settle” for regular lemon juice, we did use Courvoisier for the brandy.  The Between the Sheets had a distinctively different note, obviously, with the brandy.  It had a mellow sweetness, not cloying at all.  The lemon juice and Cointreau maintained the citrusy notes for balance.

“What’s this one called now?” asked The Partner upon draining his glass.
“Between the Sheets,” I replied.
With that devilish smirk of his and a come hither glint in his eye he set down his empty and headed for the boudoir….  

Between the Sheets with lemon twist garnish

Maiden's Prayer/Between the Sheets

Equal parts of each (3/4 oz.)

+gin (Maiden's Prayer)/brandy (Between the Sheets)

+light rum

+Cointreau

+lemon juice

Shake with crushed ice, strain & pour into chilled  goblet or cocktail glass.  Garnish with lemon twist or edible flower.