May 20-Between The Sheets

This next cocktail has a bit of a messy history. Well maybe messy isn’t the right word for it, maybe complex is better. This week we are talking about the Between the Sheets. This cocktail actually features a split base I had never seen before. It uses brandy which is often seen split amongst other spirits like rye or gin but the other spirit in this is rum. I’ve never seen those brandy flavours pair with those of light rum. It’s not even the Hogo flavours of Jamaican rum, it’s light rum. Now you might see a tiki cocktail with both of these spirits together but they aren’t a true split base as they are usually only using a little brandy, but this one is equal parts brandy and rum. And again if you see these 2 together it’s usuially with the hogo flavours of an aged or Jamaican rum.

This cocktail started off as a gin/rum based cocktail and it later evolved into a brandy/gin cocktail and finally a brandy/rum cocktail. This is what I’m talking about with a messy history. The most likely creator of this version of the cocktail is a bartender by the name of Weber in the King David Hotel in Jerusalem. It was famously discovered by Charles H Baker for his book The Gentleman’s Comnpanion (Volume II).

Aside from the brandy and rum we discussed earlier this cocktail also features lemon juice and cointreau. Think of it as a Daisy with a split base. What is a Daisy you ask? It is a category of drink that gets all sweetness from liqueurs instead of syrups and sugar. But the classic has a build very similar to this but with gin.

Full judging here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Pd5VZ6cOz1pQ21oI0ARoog5ZmkObG2p4pf1kPsbTuDM/edit?tab=t.0 .