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Cocktail History
The Maiden’s Prayer is a classic cocktail that was first published in American Bar: English & American Drink Recipes by Frank P. Newman. It’s traditionally made with gin, rum, orange liqueur, and Meyer lemon juice, and it got its name because it was known as being a “date-peeler” that would have been served to a young lady by a young man while she was “on the edge of a couch” according to Esquire.
Cocktail Ingredients
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:
Gin: This is a type of gin made with juniper berries, botanicals, and alcohol. We used Castle & Key Distillery Roots of Ruin Gin because it has a smooth juniper flavor with notes of lemon verbena, ginger, citrus, chamomile, angelica, and rosemary. For a mocktail version of this drink, try Lyre’s Non-Alcoholic Dry London Spirit in place of the gin.
White Rum: This is a type of rum made with molasses or sugar cane juice and a neutral spirit that is filtered and bottled right away without the aging process. We used BACARDÍ Superior White Rum because it has a soft and slightly sweet rum flavor. For a mocktail version of this drink, try Lyre’s Non-Alcoholic White Cane Spirit in place of the rum.
Triple Sec: This is a liqueur made with bitter oranges, lemons, sugar, water, and alcohol. We used Cointreau because it’s high quality. For a mocktail version of this drink, try Lyre’s Non-Alcoholic Orange Sec in place of the liqueur.
Meyer Lemon Juice: This is the liquid juice of a Meyer lemon. We used freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice.
Meyer Lemon Twist: This is the peel of a Meyer lemon that has been twisted into a corkscrew shape.
Bartending Tools
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following bar tools:
Jigger: This is used to measure and pour ingredients. We used the Japanese jigger from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.
Boston Shaker: This is used to shake ingredients. We used the Boston shaker from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.
Hawthorne Strainer: This is used to strain out ice and solid ingredients after the cocktail is shaken. We used the A Bar Above Hawthorne Strainer.
Paring Knife: This is used to cut ingredients. We used the OXO Good Grips 3.5 Inch Paring Knife.
Juicer: This is used to juice citrus. We used the ALEEHAI Manual Fruit Juicer.
Peeler: This is used to remove the garnish peel from the citrus. We used the OXO Good Grips 2-Piece Peeler Set.
Tasting Notes
The Maiden’s Prayer begins with sweet orange and Meyer lemon aromas, has a botanical-forward taste with heavy orange notes and a hint of rum, and goes down with an aftertaste of more dry gin and sweet citrus.
Our Opinion of This Cocktail Recipe: We both thought the Maiden’s Prayer was really tasty. We’re partial to lemon drinks anyway, but the spirits in this one were balanced well by the citrus. The Meyer lemon also gave the recipe a much sweeter, lighter flavor than its conventional counterpart, so it’s worth making it with those if you have them on hand.
Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.
Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.
Alex’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐
“The first time we tried this recipe we used standard lemon juice instead of Meyer lemons. It was good but not amazing due to its heavy citrus note. When we finally found a bag of Meyer lemons, we remade it and thought it was actually pretty great the second time around. The gin gives it a dry and botanical note that the other flavors play well with, the orange liqueur gives a lot of extra fruity flavor, and the rum, while slightly present, doesn’t show its face too much, but that could be because we used a fairly quiet rum rather than something funkier. Overall, this is a super interesting and definitely vintage recipe that is worth making if you can get your hands on the appropriate citrus.”—
Kendall’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐
“I had never heard of this cocktail before we found it in the book and wasn’t really sure what to expect of it. It turns out it’s just a simple bright, boozy, and citrusy drink that has a nice sweet lemon flavor thanks to the Meyer lemon. We tried it with both conventional lemons and Meyer lemons, and I do think the Meyer lemon makes it better. If you’re interested in trying this ‘date peeler,’ I would splurge on those to get the full experience.”
Recipe
This cocktail recipe was adapted from The Art of Vintage Cocktails by Stephanie Rosenbaum.
Add gin, rum, triple sec, lemon juice, and cubed ice to a shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Strain into a cocktail glass.
Garnish with lemon twist or lemon blossom.
Ingredients
Directions
Add gin, rum, triple sec, lemon juice, and cubed ice to a shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Strain into a cocktail glass.
Garnish with lemon twist or lemon blossom.
Make It a Mocktail: Use Lyre’s Non-Alcoholic Dry London Spirit in place of the gin, Lyre’s Non-Alcoholic White Cane Spirit in place of the rum, and Lyre’s Non-Alcoholic Orange Sec in place of the liqueur to try a booze-free version of this drink.
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More Citrus Cocktails
If you like this citrus-forward cocktail recipe, here are a few others we’ve tried that you may enjoy:
Gin & Sin: A gin cocktail made with orange juice, lemon juice, grenadine, and an orange twist
Garibaldi: A low-proof cocktail made with orange juice, Campari, and an orange slice
Nucleus Mimosa: A sparkling wine cocktail made with orange juice, cranberry juice, and a lime slice
Gimlet: A gin cocktail made with lime juice, simple syrup, and a lime wedge
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