The Blood and Sand cocktail is probably the second most iconic Scotch cocktail around. The obvious title-owner is the Rob Roy, though I think that crown might be slipping. In recent years, I haven’t seen many bars or restaurants touting their Rob Roys, but it seems like everywhere has a Blood and Sand, a Penicillin, or a proprietary riff of either/both, on their menu.
I haven’t been keeping an exact score, so I’m speaking anecdotally, but between the two, the Blood and Sand seems to be the one I see more often on menus or in my social feeds. The simplicity of this cocktail makes it a perfect candidate for riffing and experimentaion.
Blood and Sand Cocktail Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1.5 oz Scotch
- .5 oz Red Vermouth
- .5 oz Cherry Heering
- .75 oz Orange juice
Instructions
- Place teh cocktail glass in the freezer
- Combine ice and all ingedients into the shaker
- Shake 20-30 seconds till cold and diluted
- Remove glass from freezer
- Strain cocktail into the chilled glass
- Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
The original Blood and Sand cocktail recipe calls for 3/4 oz of each of the ingredients which makes a 3 oz cocktail and it’s perfectly fine at those ratios. However, over the years I’ve played with and adjusted the ratios to what I have listed in the recipe above. It’s a recipe I’ve found to make a balanced cocktail no matter what scotch you’re using. The only time I’ll really mess around with this recipe is when I have blood oranges. Then I’ll boost it to a full 1 oz because I enjoy their flavor.
What about you? If you have a go-to riff on this one let me know in the comments below, or if you make a Blood and Sand after reading this please tag me in the post so I can see how it turned out.
Cheers!
