Blood and Sand

COCKTAIL INGREDIENTS:
- 22,5 ml Scotch
- 22,5 ml Sweet Vermouth
- 22,5 ml Cherry Heering Liqueur
- 22,5 ml Fresh Orange Juice

GARNISH:
- Orange Twist

INSTRUCTIONS:
• Combine all of the ingredients in a cocktail shaker.
• Add ice and shake until chilled.
• Double strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
• Garnish with an orange twist.

Cocktail author: Unknown, recipe was first written down and published in The Savoy Cocktail Book by Harry Craddock.

Blood and Sand is quite an old cocktail, that was first described in the famous Savoy Cocktail Book by Harry Craddock. My initial encounter with it was right about the time I got interested in cocktails. It looked very intriguing on paper, with a list of ingredients not often found together.

Woody notes of scotch are clearly present with subtle fruitiness binding well with slightly herbaceous bitterness of sweet vermouth and sweet fruitiness of the Heering liqueur. Addition of fresh orange juice is a rather unusual choice bringing further citrusy sweetness with little hints of tartness and bitterness. Overall, the cocktail is sweet and tasty, but in my opinion, slightly missing something. That is where I left it a few years ago, until recently, when I got an idea for my own spec, that could possibly rework this cocktail a bit more to my liking. However, before starting on that I wanted to refresh my taste buds and try the original recipe once more.

So, stay tuned and come back next week, for my very own – Grouchy Blood & Sand.

Source material:
https://www.liquor.com/recipes/blood-and-sand/