Sour · Anytime · Summer

Between the Sheets

Rum and cognac split the base, triple sec sweetens, lemon sharpens. A Sidecar with a second spirit and more backbone.

Base: Rum
Glass: Coupe glass
Method: Shake
Strength: 40% ABV

Ingredients

30 mlWhite Rum1 swap
Any light rumhigh
Little change
30 mlCognac1 swap
Brandy or Armagnachigh
Similar; Armagnac is bolder
30 mlTriple Sec1 swap
Cointreauhigh
Similar, a little drier
20 mlFresh Lemon Juice1 swap
Fresh lime juicemedium
A touch sharper

How to make

Technique

Shake · 10–15s

Shaking chills the drink fast while adding dilution and a light texture.

Add all ingredients into a cocktail shaker.
Shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Serve

Glass

Coupe glassAlso fine: Martini glass, Nick & Nora glass

Garnish

None

Taste & nutrition

40%ABV

157kcal

4.36Drinks

StrengthSpirit-forward

Sweet to dryDry

Estimated from ingredient amounts and assumed ABVs — not a lab measurement.

Good to know

Use freshly squeezed juice — bottled tastes flat.

History

Year1920s

PlaceParis, France

Created byAttributed to Harry MacElhone

A close cousin of the Sidecar, Between the Sheets adds white rum to the usual brandy, Cointreau and lemon. It surfaced in the 1920s, with Paris bartender Harry MacElhone among those linked to it, though early recipes actually leaned on gin. Its cheeky name fit the speakeasy mood of the era. The balanced brandy-and-rum version is the one that survived.

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