Blood & More Blood

One of the most famous scotch cocktails is the Blood and Sand. But to be quite honest, I’ve always found it saccharine and gross: orange juice and herring cherry liqueur are not my favorite ingredients. I’ve tried making boozy versions many times, and one of the more favorite recipes is the one I published previously: Ichor and Glass. I also tried making one I found online (sorry I cannot find the link) based on Yamazaki 12 (I subbed Hibiki Harmony because I am cheap) which was boozy – but it still felt unbalanced. I ended up adding quite a lot of bitters in an attempt to balance it but we still didn’t feel it got “there”.

We ended up making a critical substitution: peaty scotch instead of the milder Japanese whisky. This… by far, is my favorite blood and sand riff ever. I ended up using Finlaggan’s Port Finsh whisky (an inexpensive blend that I purchased in Europe). I thought the sweetness of the port finish would help it, but I think even a non-port cask finished peater might work.

Ingredients

• 1.5 oz peated scotch (I used Finlaggan Port Finish)
• 0.75 oz sweet vermouth
• 0.5 oz Kirschwasser cherry brandy
• 0.5 oz dry curacao

Glass

Cocktail Glass

Instructions

• Mix all ingredients with ice, strain into a glass of choice, and garnish with an orange twist.
• Slurp!