Day 33: I Slit a Sheet

Ever since we did the Week of Cream, people have been clamoring for another theme week.   Since we are less than a week away from Anna Howard Shaw’s birthday, I was thinking about a week of drinks that would celebrate the women’s suffrage movement.  Drinks like the Betsy Ross, the Prohibition, and the Corpse Reviver would pay fine tribute.  While researching I learned that Ms Shaw was also active in the temperance movement.  Screw her, then.  We will do a week of romantic cocktails instead.  Welcome to Romance Week 2011.

Romance Bear's Hunny Pot

Our first drink of Romance Week is the Between the Sheets, a shooter composed of brandy, light rum, triple sec, and lemon juice.  It was invented by Harry MacElhone at the New York Bar in Paris sometime in the 1930’s.  MacElhone also invented the Bloody Mary, making him the Thomas Edison of mixology.  Edison may have invented the light bulb, the phonograph, and motion pictures, but MacElhone gave us the Monkey Gland, so as inventors I will call them even. Oh man, a Monkey Gland would really hit the spot right about now.

The Between the Sheets is made with brandy.  Since neither Mrs. Bottle nor I had ever had brandy before we had to do a little reading up.  In the process we learned that Cognac just brandy that is produced in Cognac, France.  Just like squares and rectangles, all Cognac is brandy, but not all brandy is Cognac.  One of the more famous Cognacs is Courvoisier, the favorite brand of Leon Phelps, the Ladies Man, one of the most romantic men on the planet.  If the Ladies Man loves Cognac, it will certainly make a romantic cocktail.



She also found it too sour. Or not.



We tasted our Cognac straight before mixing in the drink. It tasted quite a bit like whiskey, but it was smoother and had a richer mouth feel.  Since whiskey drinks haven’t done well for us, I got a bit nervous.  It turns out that I found the drink quite pleasant.  The Cognac really blended nicely with the rum and triple sec but it was a bit tart due to the lemon juice.   Mrs. Bottle thought it was too sour.  Some other recipes for the Between the Sheets call for simple syrup to be added so that would have made it better for her.

As far as the romantic qualities, it has Cognac, so that is a plus.  It is kind of sour, so that is a potential minus. It is named Between the Sheets, which isn’t particularly romantic especially if your mind turns to bedbugs.  And finally, it is a shooter, which isn’t romantic at all.  On the upside, it is over 20% alcohol, and we all know that can lead to romance.  It did not for us.

Overall Rating for the Between the Sheets

Taste: 3 - I might give it a 4, but Mrs. Bottle would never.
Presentation: 3 

Ease of Preparation: 4

Drinks Until Blackout: 6 - Stick to less if you want romance

Romance Score: 2

Ingredients

.5 oz Brandy

.5 oz Light Rum

.5 oz Triple Sec

1 oz Lemon Juice