Friday, October 10, 2008

Drink of the Week: Between the Sheets

When looking for cocktail inspiration, we frequently turn to the Food and Wine Cocktails book. We have the 2007 version of this annually-released cocktail guide. I recommend you pick up a copy to enhance your cocktail research. Each drink comes from a bartender and has a little blurb discussing its history. The guide is organized by spirit and we decided to make this little item from the brandy section.

Since first mixing this version of a Between the Sheets (recipe courtesy of Bin 54 in Chapel Hill, NC), I've discovered that the most common version of this drink is made with rum, not gin. Ah well, a drink for another time. A great summary of various Between the Sheets recipes can be found over at Kaiser Penguin. Give it a browse to see how small tweaks in the recipe dramatically change the final result.

In our mixed brandy drinks we use Christian Brothers. It's a small step above rotgut but works well in Sidecars, sours and the like. If you're living larger than we are, try this with Hennessy or another higher-end VS or VSOP brandy.

Between the Sheets (gin variation)
Combine in an iced cocktail shaker:
  • 3/4 ounce brandy
  • 3/4 ounce gin
  • 3/4 ounce Cointreau
  • 1/4 ounce lemon juice
  • simple syrup to taste (not called for in the original recipe, but our drink was too sour, so we squirted in some syrup, maybe a 1/2 teaspoon, to smooth it out)
Shake until well chilled. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a lemon twist.

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