Welcome to Day 9 of the Advent of Cocktails 2025! Today's cocktail is...

French Maid

___

History

The French Maid cocktail was created by renowned bartender Jim Meehan at PDT (Please Don’t Tell), New York City, in autumn 2007 for an art gallery opening hosted by John Pellaton of Hine Cognac (diffordsguide.com). It belongs to the “Maid” family of cocktails—a template originally conceived by bartender Sam Ross around 2005—built around a base spirit, lime, mint, and cucumber. Meehan’s version cleverly swaps cognac as the base, adding Falernum and ginger beer to elevate it into a refreshing, subtly spiced highball.

Barman Sam Ross created a similar drink made with bourbon dubbed the Kentucky Maid: consider this her spicy French sister

^{Jim Meehan, The PDT Cocktail Book, 2011}

___

French Maid (The PDT Cocktail Book, 2011, page 128)

• 1½ oz (45 ml) Cognac (Hine V.S.O.P)
• ¾ oz (22.5 ml) Lime Juice
• ¾ oz (22.5 ml) Simple Syrup
• ¼ oz (7.5ml) Velvet Falernum (John D. Taylor)
• 1 oz (30 ml) Ginger Beer (House Ginger Beer, see note below)
• 4 Cucumber Wheels (reserve one for garnish)
• 6–8 Mint Leaves (and one sprig for garnish)

1. Add the cucumber, mint, and simple syrup to a mixing glass and muddle
2. Add everything else*, then shake with ice and strain into a chilled Collins glass filled with ice
3. Garnish with a mint sprig poking through a cucumber wheel

*Don't add Ginger Beer before shaking if it's carbonated, top with it in the end instead.

If you want to use the same Ginger Beer as used in PDT, here's how to make their House Ginger Beer:

Ginger Beer

• 80 oz Water
• 1 cup Minced Ginger
• 2 oz Light Brown Sugar
• 1 oz Lime Juice

Boil water, then turn off heat. Add minced ginger and cover. Allow to infuse for 1 hour. Strain mixture though a chinois. Press down on the ginger with the back of a spoon to force as much liquid through the chinois as possible.

Once the ginger beer has been strained, add citrus and sugar, then stir, bottle, and store in the refrigerator.

___

Variations

There are several creative riffs on the French Maid found on our subreddit:

• French Island Maid—uses rhum, Falernum, absinthe, key lime juice, turbinado syrup, Peychaud’s bitters, topped with ginger beer—a more island‑inspired spin (reddit.com).
• French Maid with Chambord & sparkling wine—combines muddled cucumber, mint, Chambord as base spirit, then topped with sparkling wine for a French‑themed twist (reddit.com).
• French Maid with ginger syrup instead of ginger beer (reddit.com).

These riffs showcase the versatility of the “Maid” format—just swap the spirit or modifier and adapt to your taste!

As Kentucky Maid has been mentioned and is worth trying, I'll end by including the recipe

Kentucky Maid

• 2 oz (60 ml) bourbon
• 1 oz (30 ml) fresh lime juice
• ¾ oz (22.5 ml) simple syrup
• 5 mint leaves
• 3 slices cucumber
• Garnish: 1 mint sprig skewered through 1 cucumber wheel

1. Add the cucumber, mint, and simple syrup to a mixing glass and muddle
2. Add everything else, then shake with ice and strain into a chilled double Old-Fashioned glass over 1 large ice cube
3. Garnish with the mint sprig skewered through a cucumber wheel

___

Previous December 9 cocktails

• AoC 2020: Corpse Reviver No. 2
• AoC 2021: Enzoni
• AoC 2022: Brooklynite
• AoC 2023: Divison Bell
• AoC 2024: Oliveto

___

NB! Variations and your own riffs are encouraged, please share the result and recipe!

Are you liking Advent of Cocktails? Want to support it or simply get me the equivalent of a beer or cocktail for the work?