Blood and Sand

By Rosie Schaap

Blood and Sand
Gentl and Hyers for The New York Times. Food stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop stylist: Amy Wilson.
Rating
4(66)
Notes
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The Blood and Sand counters the notion that Scotch whisky can't play well in a mixed drink: Without that deep, vital smokiness, this drink would be a much less exciting proposition. In the 1930 "Savoy Cocktail Book," Harry Craddock’s recipe calls for equal parts Scotch whisky, cherry brandy, Italian vermouth and orange juice. I prefer different proportions that allow the whisky and juice to predominate — and I especially like it when fresh blood orange juice is available, both for color and flavor.

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Ingredients

Yield:1 drink
  • 1ounce Scotch whisky (choose a blend with a distinctly smoky character)
  • ¾ounce sweet vermouth
  • ¾ounce cherry liqueur
  • 1ounce fresh orange juice (preferably from a blood orange)
  • Orange peel (a twist or a swath) for garnish
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (1 servings)

163 calories; 0 grams fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 0 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 11 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 9 grams sugars; 0 grams protein; 3 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Shake liquid ingredients with ice, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass or coupe. Garnish with orange peel.

Ratings

4 out of 5
66 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

Mark

Cherry Heering from Denmark is what was originally called for.

dan

Made it with Talisker 10, blood oranges, Licardo, and Antica Formula vermouth and it was slightly sweet but good. Just enough smoke.

CT Cook

I used Cherry Heering and was fortunate enough to have some blood oranges I could juice. Great drink! A little too sticky sweet for me, not sticky sweet enough for my husband. So the amount of cherry liqueur should be adjusted based on your sweet tooth.

giorgio

Delicious cocktail. Made it with lagavulin 16 and luxardo. I used a regular orange instead of a blood one. It was still good but definitely would have been better with blood orange.

Sarah

I recommended using Luxardo (or similar) instead of Heering's. Way more delicious. Also, dry vermouth worked better than sweet, like a perfect Manhattan. This made a great pre-Thanksgiving dinner cocktail.

Mary Kennedy

This is even better with tangerine juice.

schrems

for european purposes- 3/4 ounce would be about 2 cl...is that correct?

Leslie

Sweet cherry liqueur or kirschwasser type brandy??

Mark

Cherry Heering from Denmark is what was originally called for.

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