Cocktail Recipe: Blood and Sand

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, […]

The post Cocktail Recipe: Blood and Sand appeared first on The Whiskey Jug.

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.

Blood and Sand Cocktail

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.

— This cocktail recipe contains affiliate links in the equipment section. If you use these links to buy the recommended equipment I might earn a commission. Cheers.
Blood and Sand Cocktail
Print

Blood and Sand Cocktail Recipe

Smoky or sweet, how you want it is up to you.
Course Drinks
Cuisine Cocktail
Keyword Cherry Heering, Oraneg Juice, Red Vermouth, Scotch
Prep Time 3 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
2 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Servings 1
Calories 167kcal

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

If you want to make it extra bloody, use blood oranges instead. It not only takes on a darker hue, but tastes a bit more tart. I love making these when they're in season.
Recommended Whisky

Nutrition

Calories: 167kcal

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!

The post Cocktail Recipe: Blood and Sand appeared first on The Whiskey Jug.

Cocktail Recipe: Rob Roy

We’ve hit quite a few classic American Whiskey cocktails already, so I thought it would be nice if we turned our cocktail shakers towards classic Scotch cocktails for a bit and nothing is more classic than the Rob Roy. Created in 1894 at the Waldorf Astoria in NYC as a tribute to an opera of […]

The post Cocktail Recipe: Rob Roy appeared first on The Whiskey Jug.

We’ve hit quite a few classic American Whiskey cocktails already, so I thought it would be nice if we turned our cocktail shakers towards classic Scotch cocktails for a bit and nothing is more classic than the Rob Roy. Created in 1894 at the Waldorf Astoria in NYC as a tribute to an opera of the same name, this cocktail is essentially a Manhattan made with Scotch instead of bourbon or rye.

Rob Roy Cocktail

It might sound weird to change the name just because we changed the base spirit, but it’s quite common in the cocktail world. The Negroni is a perfect example of this. Your classic Negroni has a base spirit of gin, but if you swap it out for bourbon it’s called a Boulevardier, tequila morphs it into a La Rosita and a Scotch Negroni goes by the name of… the Scotch Negroni. No one ever said drinkers were consistent.

Yes, there are some modern-classic “Scotch Negroni” recipes like The Drunk Uncle, but they often exclude one, or both, of the traditional accompanying ingredients: Campari and sweet vermouth. Anyways, my point is it’s quite common to change the name, but have virtually the same recipe when you change the base spirit. Especially in ye olden days.

— This cocktail recipe contains affiliate links in the equipment section. If you use these links to buy the recommended equipment I might earn a commission. Cheers.
Rob Roy Cocktail
Print

Rob Roy Cocktail

It's basically a Manhattan made with Scotch.
Course Drinks
Cuisine Cocktail
Keyword Bitters, Dry vermouth, Red Vermouth, Scotch
Prep Time 3 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
2 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Servings 1
Calories 170kcal

Ingredients

  • 2 oz Scotch
  • .75 oz Red Vermouth
  • 2-3 dashes Angostura Bitters
  • 1 Brandied Cherry

Instructions

  • Place the cocktail glass in the freezer
  • Add ice and all ingredients, except cherry, to the mixing glass
  • Stir for 20-30 seconds till chilled and diluted
  • Retrieve the chilled cocktail glass
  • Strain cocktail into the glass
  • Garnish with cherry
  • Enjoy!

Notes

To make it a perfect Rob Roy, up the vermouth to 1 oz and split it 50/50 sweet red and dry.
Suggested Whisky

Nutrition

Calories: 170kcal
The Manhattan family, itself an offshoot of the Martini, is a fun area to play around in and can make for some elegant combinations by mixing up the base spirit, the vermouth(s) and the bitters and garnishes you use. So get creative and have fun. After all, that’s what cocktails are all about.
Do you like making Rob Roy cocktails? How do you make yours? Let me know in the comments and tag me on IG or Twitter if you make one.

The post Cocktail Recipe: Rob Roy appeared first on The Whiskey Jug.

Cocktail Recipe: Modern Cocktail

The Modern Cocktail is a classic cocktail that’s ridiculously easy to manipulate to fit into any cocktail scenario. Smoky, funky, sweet, spicy, this cocktail can do it all by just changing your selection of its core spirits: Scotch and Rum. Two spirits that have a wide range of flavor profiles to pick from, which results […]

The post Cocktail Recipe: Modern Cocktail appeared first on The Whiskey Jug.

The Modern Cocktail is a classic cocktail that’s ridiculously easy to manipulate to fit into any cocktail scenario. Smoky, funky, sweet, spicy, this cocktail can do it all by just changing your selection of its core spirits: Scotch and Rum. Two spirits that have a wide range of flavor profiles to pick from, which results in more combinations than I can imagine.

Modern Cocktail

Want to make a smoky and funky after-dinner drink? Switch your Scotch to something from Islay and use something like a Hampden for your rum. Want to make it sweet and spicy? Use an un-peated, sherried, Scotch and some form of a spiced rum. The combinations of Scotch profiles + Rum profiles make this a drink you can endlessly experiment with and truly tailor to your tastes. And that’s before you start messing with the ratios.

The Scotch component is only 1.5 oz and most, standard, drinks will use up to 2oz of hard alcohol so there’s ample room to increase your rum amount if you want to highlight the rum more. You can shift it to 1 and 1 or even flip the ratios completely. Though, admittedly, I didn’t have much success when flipping to a rum-centric cocktail. But that’s all about balance.

I’m sure there are some great combos that can be created by switching to rum-centric, I just didn’t hit on a winner in my experiments. Regardless, the point is, there is a lot of room for experimentation not just within your actual choice of Scotch and Rum, but the amounts as well. The Modern Cocktail is a very versatile cocktail and if you’re a fan of Scotch and Rum, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a simple cocktail that gives you more room to play around in and explore.

If you read this and make one, share your thoughts in the comments below.

Cheers!

Modern Cocktail Recipe
Print

Cocktail Recipe: Modern Cocktail

An absurdly versatile cocktail that can take on a vastly different profile just with the selection of your Scotch or Rum.
Course Drinks
Cuisine Cocktail
Keyword Absinthe, Bitters, Lemon, Rum, Scotch
Total Time 5 minutes

Equipment

  • Mixing glass
  • Jigger
  • Cocktail Glass
  • Ice
  • Bar spoon
  • Strainer

Ingredients

  • 1.5 oz Scotch
  • .5 tsp Rum
  • .5 tsp Lemon Juice
  • .25 tsp Anisette (Absinthe or Chartreuse works too)
  • 2-3 Dashes Orange Bitters
  • 1 Cherry (garnish)

Instructions

  • Put cocktail glass in freezer
  • Add ice to mixing glass
  • Add all ingredients except cherry
  • Stir till cold and properly diluted (20-30 seconds)
  • Remove cocktail glass from freezer
  • Strain cocktail into glass
  • Garnish with cherry (optional)
  • Enjoy!

The post Cocktail Recipe: Modern Cocktail appeared first on The Whiskey Jug.