cocktaildna

Paris, France

Between the Sheets

Also known as Maiden's Prayer, Entre Las Sabanas

A boozy, citrus-driven sour that splits the base between cognac and white rum, making it richer than a Sidecar but lighter on its feet than a straight brandy drink.

citrussourorangecognacrumstrongbrightbrandysharpwarm finish

%

ABV

Difficulty

Between the Sheets

Overview

What this drink is like

The first sip hits with sharp lemon and sweet orange, then the cognac's grape weight and the rum's faint sweetness trade places in the middle. It finishes warm and slightly dry, with the booze catching up to the citrus on the way down.

Who will like it

For people who like sour, spirit-forward drinks but want something with more going on than a simple Sidecar or Daiquiri.

When to drink

This is a pre-dinner drink — sharp enough to wake up your palate, strong enough to take the edge off before the meal lands.

Ordering tip

Ask for Cointreau specifically if you don't want a sweeter, less defined drink — cheaper triple sec will muddy the citrus bite.

Ice: NoneTemp: ColdCost: $3–$6Glass: CoupeBatch-friendlyHome bar friendly

Flavor

Taste profile

This drink leads with bright, mouth-puckering lemon and sweet orange, then reveals a warm cognac-rum backbone underneath. It's stronger than it tastes — the citrus and sugar make the booze easy to forget until the finish warms your chest. The body is light and clean, with no cream or egg to soften anything, so the flavors come through sharp and distinct. It's the kind of sour that wakes you up and then lets the alcohol catch up a beat later.

Finish: The finish runs medium-long, with warm cognac and rum fading into a dry, slightly astringent citrus peel note.

Primary tastes

soursweetfruity

Secondary

herbalfloral

Aroma

orange zestlemon oilcognac grapefaint vanilla
  • Bitternessbarely bitter

    Only a faint bitter edge from the orange liqueur — this drink runs sour and sweet, not bitter.

  • Sweetnessmoderately sweet

    The triple sec brings real sweetness, but the lemon juice and the two spirits keep it from tipping into candy territory.

  • Sournessclearly sour

    Fresh lemon juice gives this a sharp, mouth-watering acidity that sits right up front on every sip.

  • Strengthvery strong

    Three full pours of booze and only 20ml of juice — this hits hard for a cocktail that tastes so bright and easy.

  • Refreshingfairly refreshing

    The citrus and the cold shake make it feel light and brisk, even though the alcohol content is no joke.

  • Creaminesslean and sharp

    No dairy or egg, so the body stays thin and crisp — the shake gives it a slight silky texture but nothing thick.

  • Complexitymoderately complex

    Two different spirits plus orange liqueur create some layering, but the sour-sweet framework keeps it straightforward.

Recipe

Make it at home

Shaken · Coupe · equal parts on Cognac. VS or VSOP works well; don't waste XO in a mixed drink

Before you start

Stick your coupe glass in the freezer for a few minutes while you work. Juice your lemon fresh — you need about half a lemon for 20ml.

Ingredients

  • CognacBase Spirit30ml
  • White RumBase SpiritA clean, unaged or lightly aged white rum — not a spiced rum30ml
  • Triple SecLiqueurCointreau recommended for its drier, cleaner orange character30ml
  • Fresh Lemon JuiceJuiceMust be fresh — bottled lemon juice tastes flat and metallic here20ml

Garnish: Lemon twist

Tools

  • Cocktail Shaker · Shaking

    Shakes the drink to chill, dilute, and integrate the citrus with the spirits

    At home: A large mason jar with a tight lid

  • Jigger · Measuring

    Measures each ingredient so the sour-sweet-booze balance stays right

    At home: A measuring spoon set or a small liquid measuring cup

  • Hawthorne Strainer · Straining

    Strains ice out when pouring from the shaker

    At home: A slotted spoon held against the shaker opening

  • Coupe Glass · Serving

    Serves the drink — the stemmed glass keeps your hand off the cold cocktail

    At home: A small wine glass or a chilled martini glass

  • Citrus Juicer · Other

    Extracts juice from the lemon efficiently

    At home: Squeeze by hand over a small strainer to catch seeds

  • Fine Strainer · optional · Straining

    Catches small ice chips and citrus pulp for a cleaner pour

    At home: A small wire kitchen sieve

  • Channel Knife or Vegetable Peeler · optional · Garnish

    Cuts a long thin strip of lemon peel for the twist garnish

    At home: A sharp paring knife to cut a thin strip of peel

Ingredients and tools to make Between the Sheets
Ingredients and tools

Steps

  1. 1

    Take your shaker and pour in 30ml cognac, 30ml white rum, 30ml triple sec, and 20ml fresh lemon juice. Use your jigger for each one so the ratios stay honest — this drink falls apart fast if the sour-sweet balance is off.

    Step 1 — how to make Between the Sheets

    !Free-pouring instead of measuring, which throws off the tight sour-sweet balance

  2. 2

    Fill the shaker about two-thirds full with ice — enough that the ice sits above the liquid line. Cubed ice works best; crushed ice will over-dilute the drink too fast.

    Step 2 — how to make Between the Sheets

    !Using too little ice, which means the drink doesn't get cold enough before it gets watered down

  3. 3

    Seal the shaker and shake hard for about 10 to 12 seconds. You want to hear a solid rattle. When the outside of the shaker feels frosty and cold to the touch, you're done — the drink is properly chilled and diluted.

    ~11s

    Step 3 — how to make Between the Sheets

    !Shaking too gently or too briefly, leaving the drink warm and under-diluted

  4. 4

    Pop the shaker open and pour through your Hawthorne strainer into the chilled coupe glass. If you have a fine strainer, hold it over the glass and pour through both strainers to catch any ice shards or bits of citrus pulp.

    Step 4 — how to make Between the Sheets

    !Skipping the fine strainer and letting ice chips fall into the glass, which melt and water down the first sips

  5. 5

    Take your lemon peel and hold it over the drink, colored side down. Give it a quick twist so a fine mist of lemon oils sprays across the surface, then drop the peel into the glass or rest it on the rim.

    Step 5 — how to make Between the Sheets

    !Twisting the peel colored side up, so the aromatic oils spray away from the drink instead of onto it

Serve

Serve it right away in the chilled coupe — this drink doesn't sit well. The lemon twist on top is mostly for aroma, so give it that twist over the surface before it goes in.

Variations

Ingredient substitutions

Each row shows what you can swap in place of an original ingredient, and how the drink changes.

Swap options for Cognac

  • CognacBrandy
    Match
    Common availability

    Cognac → Brandy: Similar grape character but can be rougher and less refined depending on the brand.

  • CognacApple Brandy
    Match
    Specialty availability

    Cognac → Apple Brandy: Adds an orchard-fruit note that shifts the drink toward autumn territory.

Swap options for White Rum

  • White RumAged Rum
    Match
    Common availability

    White Rum → Aged Rum: Brings caramel and vanilla notes that make the drink heavier and rounder but less crisp.

Swap options for Triple Sec

  • Triple SecCointreau
    Match
    Common availability

    Triple Sec → Cointreau: Technically a triple sec, but drier and more orange-forward — this is the preferred choice anyway.

  • Triple SecGrand Marnier
    Match
    Common availability

    Triple Sec → Grand Marnier: Cognac-based orange liqueur that adds weight and a deeper, more rounded orange note.

Related

Similar cocktails

Cousin drinks that share DNA with this one — each profile stands on its own.

Sidecar

Similar cocktail

Sidecar

The Sidecar uses only cognac as its base, while Between the Sheets splits the base with white rum.

Match

Both drinks share the same sour-orange-cognac backbone, but the rum in Between the Sheets makes it feel a touch lighter and less brandy-heavy than the Sidecar.

In common: sour-sweet framework, cognac base, shaken and served up in a coupe

Ingredients

Both share

Cognac, Triple Sec, Fresh Lemon Juice

Only in Between the Sheets

White Rum

Between the Sheets replaces half the cognac with white rum, which lightens the grape-heavy body and adds a faint sugarcane sweetness the Sidecar doesn't have.

Flavor

Shared flavors

bright lemon acidity, sweet orange from the triple sec, warm cognac finish

How Sidecar differs

lighter body, slightly sweeter mid-palate, less grape-forward

View recipe & details →

White Lady

Similar cocktail

White Lady

The White Lady uses gin as its sole base spirit instead of the cognac-rum split.

Match

The White Lady reads as herbal and dry where Between the Sheets reads as warm and fruity — same citrus framework, completely different spirit character.

In common: sour-sweet structure, shaken and served up, citrus-forward

Ingredients

Both share

Triple Sec, Fresh Lemon Juice

Only in Between the Sheets

Cognac, White Rum

Only in White Lady

Gin

Swapping the cognac and rum for gin completely changes the base — you lose the grape and sugarcane warmth and gain juniper and botanicals.

Flavor

Shared flavors

sharp lemon sourness, sweet orange liqueur presence, clean, brisk body

How White Lady differs

juniper and herbal notes instead of grape, drier finish, more aromatic up front

View recipe & details →

Margarita

Similar cocktail

Margarita

A Margarita uses tequila and lime juice instead of cognac, rum, and lemon juice.

Match

Both are bright, boozy sours, but the Margarita's tequila-lime combination gives it an earthy, green sharpness that's a long way from the warm, rounded cognac-rum character of Between the Sheets.

In common: sour-sweet balance, citrus-driven, shaken

Ingredients

Both share

Triple Sec

Only in Between the Sheets

Cognac, White Rum, Fresh Lemon Juice

Only in Margarita

Tequila, Fresh Lime Juice, Salt

The shared triple sec is the only real overlap — swapping tequila for cognac and rum, and lime for lemon, makes these very different drinks despite the similar sour template.

Flavor

Shared flavors

orange liqueur sweetness, sharp citrus sourness, clean finish

How Margarita differs

agave instead of grape and sugarcane, lime's green sharpness instead of lemon's rounder acidity, optional salt rim

View recipe & details →

History

Origin

Harry MacElhone of Harry's New York Bar in Paris published the recipe in his 1922 book 'ABC of Mixing Cocktails,' initially crediting a patron before later claiming it as his own. The drink is essentially a Sidecar with white rum added, which was a common Prohibition-era trick to stretch expensive cognac.

Creator
Harry MacElhone
Era
1920s
IBA
The Unforgettables
Data version
IBA current spec
Confidence

The IBA lists this in The Unforgettables with the spec used here. Some older recipes use equal parts of all four ingredients including the lemon juice, which makes a noticeably more sour drink. The attribution to Harry MacElhone is widely cited but he changed his own story about it between editions.

Practical

Tips & pitfalls

What works at home and what to skip when making this drink.

Tips

Worth knowing before you pour

  • Use Cointreau instead of cheaper triple sec — the drier orange character matters here.
  • Shake hard and serve immediately — this drink loses its edge as it warms.
  • Fresh lemon juice only; the bottled stuff makes this taste like cleaning product.

Avoid

Common mistakes

  • Don't use dark or spiced rum — it overpowers the cognac.
  • Don't skip the lemon twist — the oils on top tie the aroma together.
  • Don't over-shake or the drink gets watery and flat.