Blood and Sand

The Blood and Sand has been a noted if obscure part of the cocktail canon since its inclusion in Harry Craddock’s 1931 classic The Savoy Cocktail Book, but it has not always been popular. Modern bartenders rediscovered the drink and were all too eager to add such a striking name to their menus, but the cocktail has developed a reputation for being “unbalanced.” 

Here’s the important thing: The equal parts concoction of orange juice, scotch, sweet vermouth, and Cherry Heering (the Danish liqueur that makes its biggest historic splash in the Singapore Sling) is not a sour. The absence of lemon (or lime) juice means that the delicate balancing act between sugar and citrus one tastes in many famous cocktails like the whiskey sour or daiquiri won’t ever be found in this curious tipple. If one goes looking for it, they are bound to be disappointed.

Instead, the Blood and Sand occupies a unique niche that might not be for everyone, but then again, might make the right person very happy. You’ll never know until you try it, and that maybe is the point. If you do find the drink a bit flabby, as I’ve heard it described, you’ll want to make sure you’re using fresh-squeezed orange juice. I think that a juicy but tart orange, like Seville if you can find it, works best, bringing a bit of bitterness and a little more acidity to the game. The historically appropriate variety of orange isn’t agreed on, but Valencia seems likely and commonplace in England at the time. Of course, as with any fresh fruit, we can never be 100 percent sure exactly what a variety tasted like a century ago.

I’ve found the very big and vanilla-forward Carpano Antica Formula fits better in this drink than other vermouths do, and while I generally prefer blended scotches in my classic cocktails, this is one that can sometimes be saved by the bold flavor of a single malt, like the Glenlivet Founder’s Reserve.