How to make the Blood and Sand - love it or hate it?
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The Blood and Sand is a scotch-based cocktail that's been around for 100 years. It's a polarizing drink that's sweet and juicy without being tart. This is because it calls for orange juice, which is difficult to mix with due to its lack of acidity (lemon and lime are more affective against rich ingredients like liqueurs and sweet vermouth). So today I'm addressing this by making the Blood and Sand two ways! The first is how I've made it for years - leaving in the ice chips from shaking to offer a bit more texture. For the second drink I'm testing acid adjusted orange juice to see if that better balances the flavors. I've never tried this adjustment to the Blood and Sand, so I'm excited! Will it work? Is this a mistake? Am I doomed to struggle with this drink for the rest of time? Are you still reading this? Hope so. Cheers, everyone!
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TIME STAMPS
Intro: 0:00
Bright Cellars: 1:18
The History: 2:30
The Booze: 4:23
The Original Recipe: 5:21
Acid Adjusting: 6:32
Take Two: 7:21
Sips: 8:03
THE BLOOD AND SAND RECIPE 5:21
3/4 oz. (22.5 ml) Monkey Shoulder Blended Malt Scotch
3/4 oz. (22.5 ml) Cocchi Vermouth di Torino
3/4 oz. (22.5 ml) Cherry Heering
3/4 oz. (22.5 ml) fresh orange juice OR acid adjusted orange juice*
Orange slice & cocktail cherry for garnish
*ACID ADJUSTED ORANGE JUICE (lemon adjusted) 6:57
Combine 100ml fresh squeezed orange juice with 5.2g citric acid. Stir to combine.
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Might revisit this one in the future. What do you guys think?
lol could be a funny recurring segment/series, you trying to figure how tf to make a B&S good
Try a more acidic Cuban style blood orange?
You definitely should, you have good ideas on what makes a cocktail better, take your own riff on La Louisianne, simply brilliant and one of my favorites. For now, I'm gonna try modding my orange juice and I'm making this one.
I’d be interested in seeing a video of how you’d go about trying to pin down an improved version of the drink.
If the acidity is too strong a little bit of simple syrup could solve the problem ??? Or play with the ratios...
I wanted to try acid adjusted o.j. in a tequila sunrise, but I haven't yet...
One of the struggles with historical recipes is that some of the ingredients are significantly different today than they were back then. This is a case where the original recipe was made with oranges that were more sour than today's oranges which have tended sweeter over the decades, so the acid adjustment makes a lot of sense.
I do feel you can make something closer to the original as long as you can source the right oranges, but I do understand that acid oranges are way less popular than sweet oranges, so it may be though depending were you live. Also, oranges are so sensitive to geography and seasons that it is though to have reliability, even after you found the right variety.
So probably the easiest thing is just make acid adjusted, unless youre an orange expert haha
It was a blood orange variant.
California oranges are sour and they're pretty easy to come by.
This is exactly right. Seville oranges, a more bitter variety, were more historically common in mixing.
Your local Latin market likely Carrie’s sour oranges, maybe much better to mix with and still give that orange flavor
using blood orange makes a huge difference in this drink for me.
im looking at changing the amount of vermouth
Aye, the classic recipe comes out way better with blood orange. I’ve tried with monkey shoulder and JW black, and I much prefer it with JW black as I think the drink comes out a bit smokier and more complex.
I don’t really like the OG blood and sand. But I love this version my friend used to make:
1 oz Ardbeg 10
1 oz cocci sweet vermouth
1 oz grapefruit juice
3/4 oz luxardo morlacco cherry liquor
Grapefruit twist
Enjoy your weekend Anders, cheers
Love the look of this - will be trying it. Thanks as always, David! Cheers to you!
This sounds like a great variation
Swapping Ardbeg for Laphroaig this very weekend.
Grapefruit juice has me intrigued. I'll have to try this. I only have Laphroaig at the moment but I'll give it a shot.
I love Ardbeg but doesn't it overwhelm the drink? I could see something more like Johnnie Walker Black Label, which isn't quite so peaty.
Hey Anders, if you haven't, check out the Death & Co. Version of the drink. They upped the Whiskey, scaled back the other ingredients and added a touch of lemon juice for the acidity. Loving it!
1oz. Scotch Whiskey (Springbank 10-year oder Highland Park 12)
0,5oz. Kirschlikör (Cherry Heering)
0,5oz. Sweet Vermouth (50:50 Dolin Rouge & Punt e Mes)
0,75oz. Orangensaft
1/2 Tl. Zitronensaft
I love the live experimenting. Makes us feel like part of the process, and probably saves you time, Anders.
Just really appreciate your honest take on these. Teaches me a lot about the chemistry of cocktails.
I absolutely love your videos! Fun and educational for both the layman and the cocktail geek. Thank you!
You guys are so awesome and fun! Always look forward to your new episodes especially when I’ve never heard of the cocktail. Continued success!!
Happy friday Anders! Cheers!
I just made one myself... your style... and it works very well. Thx for sharing!
Once more a cocktail l did not know about and I'm looking forward to trying it... you are my favorite cocktail guy .
I've made Blood and Sand with acid ajusted orange juice since last year. I used to go with 100ml Orange to 3g Citric Acid. Here in Brazil our oranges are pretty acidic than northern ones. It works beautifully.
I agree with every single Anders words about original B and S.
Cheers Bruno!
Personally, the acid might be too much for me.
You are my favorite mixologist that I follow. You are the most down to earth and relatable. Please keep making your videos! 💜
Loved it, all 3 family that I served to loved it, said it got better as they sat and enjoyed it, I have added this cocktail to our do again list
Looks interesting, I'll have to try it. Need to find some citric acid as well. Always enjoy these videos, and always enjoy Oz coming on, she consistently gives am additional jolt of fun energy.
This is one of my favorites. Very rarely do people highlight or talk about it. I like to change mine by swapping out the orange juice and using clementine juice. I've heard about the acid adjustment but never tried it. I've also swapped some of the other ingredients (except the scotch) to see if I could improve on it. Awesome stuff my man, great video.
The one I made was with in-season organic valencia oranges from California, Heering, Carpano Antica, and Glenlivet 12 year single malt. I thought it had a black tea vibe that I was really liking (I like black tea). It wasn't zippy, I wasn't expecting it to be, but interesting enough for you to want another sip...and then you notice it's all gone.
Oz is awesome. I always like the videos when she comes on to try what you’ve made too. Adds another voice to the roundup opinion.
I’ve done a literal version with fresh squeezed blood oranges. I wouldn’t say it’s more acidic necessarily, but I like the blend better than I do with regular OJ. Love your channel 🤙🏻
love that you showed the acid adjust process. could you do a video sometime on super juice? ive been seeing a lot of talk about that lately
You guys are so fun!
Anders you are on a roll, this has been on my radar to make, but was hesitant as I am not a fan of mixing with OJ as an ingredient. Another continued week of Friday cocktail hour recipes coming from your channel!
Hi Anders, my bartender told me the name 'blood and sand' is derived from the look of the cocktail. The greyish foam and the red liquid.
You guys are just freaking awesome!
First, thank you so much for doing this video. I LOVE The B&S! I've tried probably over a dozen versions of it from all over the place, including a couple on my own recipes.
Besides a wildly alternative version that used a cherrywood finished port, here is the best one I've ever had:
.75oz of a smokey speyside scotch like Bowemore 15 or Lagavulin 8.
.5oz of Cherry Heering.
.75oz of DRY vermouth.
.75oz of citrus adjusted BLOOD orange.
Shake. Serve neat in an old fashioned glass. And smoke the glass - that's right. DOUBLE DOWN on the smoke.
It tastes like battlefield victory.
This was the first classic cocktail I had, besides the dry Martini, and as such it will always have a special place in my heart. I'm going to have to try the acid adjusted version though and see if I can improve upon it. All the best!
That was delightful
Hi Anders very good video. Feeling very very sad at moment due to the passing of our dear Queen. Thanks for helping to lift spirits. X
Cheers to the Queen - Thanks Andrew 🍹 🇬🇧
Could you invent a new cocktail to mark the Queen’s passing, perhaps?
I don't remember where I found this, but here's a recipe of a variation that I much prefer. 1 oz. blended Scotch, .5 oz. Cherry Heering, .5 oz. sweet vermouth, .5 oz. orange juice, .5 oz. blood orange cordial (I use Liber & Co), .5 oz. Islay Scotch. Way more complexity and quite enjoyable. There's also another variation called The Red Tartan that I recommend. Cheers!
Love this! Appreciate you sharing - Cheers!
I use lemon and orange juice in my blood and sand, it’s cool to know about the acid adjusted orange juice, definitely going to have to give that a go!
I made some acid adjusted orange super juice to use up an orange before it goes bad. However, I didn't have any sweet vermouth to try the blood & sand. What I did have though was Amontillado sherry. Mixed 1:1 with demerara syrup, Amontillado tastes like sweet vermouth to me, so I went for it and tried the blood & sand that way. I really liked it!
I use fresh squeezed Blood Orange which is less sweet a little fruity and little tangy and makes the bloods and sand just right for me. Now my favorite drink.
That was fun!
the experiment like tasting was the highlight here! :D
your videos are incredible bruh I love them
I was taught to use a boatload (near .25 oz) of peychauds bitters (we didn’t acid adjust the OJ)
Love blood and sands 😋
I always buy Cherry Heering but never tried it in cocktails. Tnx for great video, will make this cocktail and try🍷
Great video!
I use the first recipe, except I use blood orange juice and it's fantastically delicious. Would love to get your take on that!
This is great. Experimentation is fun and can either turn out amazing, completely fall apart, or in this case, give an 'aha!' while not being 100% there. Thanks for that!
I do have a bottle of Cherry Heering. I do not know why I have a bottle of Cherry Heering, nor have I figured out what to do with it. Until now. Cheers!
Very unusual. I did only have Maraschino and there is a battle going on between that and the orange juice. Great fun though.
Great presentation as always.
I agree with your take on mixing with orange juice. I have tried to find tart oranges,thinking that they would be better, pretty much without success. Maybe Seville oranges would be good? But I can’t get those. Anyway, a bit of citric acid seems a much more reliable solution to the problem. Can’t wait to try it.
I would love to see you coming back after finely adjusting this drink. What would the conclusion of Anders experiments be. Im curious.
Could be a Part B video or just a comment under this one.
Lookin forward to...
This was the house cocktail at the famous Dresden Room in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles. This historic bar / restaurant was made famous by the singing duo Marty & Elaine. They, along with The Dresden were featured in the movie “Swingers.”
Damn! Az cleans up really nice !
My favorite cocktail
I once made a Romulan Ale where I subbed the Lime Juice with OJ.
It actually came out really good IMO, but it did make the cocktail more opaque. I’d try an Orange Simple going forward with it.
I like a float of peaty scotch (or rinse the glass) on top of B&S. Brings in the Islay smoke without taking over, which helps a bit with the sweetness.
I have also done it with Superjuice of both Navel and Blood oranges. I imagine this accomplishes a similar souring as the acid adjusted OJ. I did find it a bit too sour and adjusted by adding syrup.
Can you do some fall recipes with apple cider? I LOVE the Jack Rose. Great videos!!
I've done it with fresh Blood Orange juice... very good!
To solve the orange issue you should try a Seville or bitter orange. They are a bit difficult to find but they have that orange flavor with the tartness of lemon.
Great “film” as always!!
I finally got to make this drink, and I agree with Oz that it is like a cherry flavor Capri Sun with a slight twist. I enjoyed it and will make it again. The ice chips did give it texture.
Really wishing you had one made with blood oranges as a third option for the side-by-side! I know it's not the original recipe but agreed it's just too sweet with navel orange juice, and blood oranges in the blood and sand just fits too well:
1.5 oz Monkey Shoulder scotch
.75 oz blood orange juice
.75 oz Cocchi sweet vermouth
.75 oz Heering cheery liqueur
spritz with Laphroaig 10
I think I've heard of folks using Punt e Mes instead of vermouth for extra bitterness as well. But yeah the Savoy recipe is not great - to the point where I thought we all agreed not to use it?
I do think it's worth further exploring. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Agree completely. I've done them with blood oranges with great results. Pretty sure I splashed a big of my Laphroaig Four Oak when I did so!
It would be cool if you did a video on peppercorn in cocktails. Whether its muddled, a syrup, or garnish. I've had two cocktails at two great cocktail bars with peppercorn, and I absolutely love what it adds to a drink. Most recently it was a Watermelon/peppercorn gimlet riff. You get a spicy profile that I enjoy so much for than hot sauces for spicy cocktails (although both are great).
A very good "substitute" for Cherry Heering is Luxardo "Sangue Morlacco", i usually use this, even to make the Singapore Sling (actually some recipes recommend to use it) and obviously the Blood and Sand. Maraschino instead is not a real subsitute, because it is a different liqueur: brand is the same between maraschino and Sangue Morlacco, but maraschino is made starting from the pits of a certain type of cherry called "marasca" (and the leaves as well), while Sangue Morlacco is made starting from the juice of "marasca" cherries, it is more like a cherry brandy. Try it, i think it's not difficult to find in the U.S.!
My friend loved this cocktail and wanted me to make it for him when I started doing craft cocktails, and I was NOT a fan. Thanks for improving it. Could you do a mix of orange and lemon juice?
I think you could, but you wouldn't want the lemon to overpower the orange. Some fun experimenting may be in order!
And also maybe some saline solution!
I feel like if you want orange flavour in a drink, Cointreau or Curaçao is the way to go. Pegu club is a great example.
To balance sweetness in blood and sand maybe it’s a fix that requires multiple ingredients: split base vermouth with an amaro, or use Punt e Mes instead; dial up bitterness w/ orange bitters; could also try to use a sour cherry liqueur instead of heering, maybe visinata, or that split with noyaux ? Seems like a fun experiment. :)
I’d be interested in a version of this for a more dry/sour palate for sure.
Thanks for all you do.
Exactly what I wanted. INCONCLUSIVE! 🤣🤣
Dude! Oz got engaged!! How fun and congrats! Who is the lucky guy?
Also try making the drink when the fruit is in season. Atwood navel oranges have a brighter profile, Oro Blanco grapefruit can bridge the acidity if necessary, and Tarocco blood oranges are divine.
Excellent farms to look for are Bernard Ranch, Blossom Bluff, and Olsen; all in California.
I made this on my own at home and then remembered this video, so I watched it to compare recipes. After sipping on it for a while I think the only thing it’s missing for me is the fizziness from most sour cocktails. And I was thinking to myself mid video about wanting to add .5 oz of lemon juice to get that (I did 1.25 oz for my measurements of all ingredients since I have a bigger glass). Might try that next time for myself.
I had a bartender make a blood and sand with:
Japanese 10 yr old whiskey
Tattersall sour cherry liqueur
Cocchi
And orange juice.
He said the tattersall makes the cocktail. Highly recommend trying that if you try it again!
That tattersall would save this drink for sure. It brings the acid.
Thoughts on splitting the OJ with some lemon juice? Or maybe something like meyer lemons?
great video! Question though: where do you get your ice? Brand name?
"The results are inconclusive. That is all" hahah love this channel. Keep up the fun content!
Had a few Mirto Sour (Mirto liquor, Lemon juice, Rosemary syrup) lately - looked quite similar but I guess it’s day and night when it comes to the taste.
Gotta love Az's reaction to the acid-adjusted version. They eyes say it all.
As I love whisky (both with and without an "e") I have only ever made Blood and Sand once. I was... underwhelmed. If the orange is sweet and a bit tangy, it is better, but if you get a flat one (like the ones out of season) then the best you can get is... meh...
I am aching to try your version as well as the acid-adjusted one. After I get back to my mini home bar. On holiday now and there are some cool looking cocktail bars that I need to sample here in my home town (Thessaloniki, Greece).
I think the acid balance works pretty well with the acid-adjusted version. My bigger complaint is with the overall flavor profile as I find cherry Heering to be a VERY dominant ingredient flavor-wise. (But then so is Luxardo maraschino - something about cherries just refuses to take a backseat in drinks.) The fact that I can barely taste the scotch seems like a problem!
Will it also work with adding OJ and a bit of lemon / lime instead of the acid adjusted?
Looking forward to trying this. Was excited about the Blood and Sand but then tried it and just felt muted. Not as interesting as I had hoped. I have faith in your version to change my mind good sir 🍻
I've had succes making the blood and sand with high quility cherry wine(frederiksdal in my case) instead of cherry liqueur. It is quite acidic even though it is a sweeter wine, but it still provides the zip you are looking for without modifying the orange and making it a sour.
I definitely think some tuning would be needed. Perhaps those who like a sweet drink, the original would suit their taste. However I agree with you and think it needs a punch. 🥊 Have a great weekend and enjoy the rest of the summer while it's here.
I love the traditional Blood and Sand, named after the Rudolph Valentino film. It's a great fall/winter cocktail that I balance with blood orange (I have a tree). That being said, I can't imagine using acid adjusted citrus for this drink, which isn't supposed to be a sour. Maybe try with blood orange instead since they're not as sweet and a bit bitter.
I came up with a Blood and Sand recipe that I like. I call it Blood and Sand No. 13, if you want to try to guess how many tries it took to come up with it. I decided that the biggest problem for me was the Scotch, and I think it's because the rest of the ingredients amplify the pine tar taste of the scotch (maybe because I was using a Scotch with a noticeably peaty component in the blend). So I cut the Scotch with Irish whiskey. I also cut back on the orange juice and Cherry Heering. (For what it's worth: 3/4 oz blended Scotch, 3/4 oz blended Irish, 3/4 oz sweet vermouth, 1/2 oz Cherry Heering, 1/2 oz orange juice)
I saw that movie. 1930? It was silent, and talkies came out the year before. I will try making the cocktail.
I have to say that my experimentation with the Blood and Sand has yielded much the same result: the acid adjustment on the OJ is a marked improvement but it still isn't *quite* there yet. Shelved for another profound yet simple adjustment, it waits...
Future video idea! What are your wedding cocktails going to be?
Welcome back Anders, it's your friends😁 I think we all feel one cocktail will solve all our problems, but one turns into two, into three... Then, we forgot our problems😋
Tada...
7:19 "That's it!" Someone needs to make a GIF out of this so I can send it to people when I text them I'm done with the conversation/statement. 😂
I have been acid adjusting pineapple juice for awhile now but I had not considered doing it with orange juice for this drink. It is such a great idea. I love a Blood & Sand but loath the equal parts spec. I tend to use the Death & Company spec, but even then the drink really depends on a quality orange juice. “Flabby” is the exact right word for that ingredient. It is hard to use. I love the idea of acid adjusting it and making a consistent cocktail. I’m excited to do this! Thank you so much.
You know orange juice from the store is reconstituted from a mixture of orange derived ingredients after storage because it can’t be pasteurized right so maybe that’s the problem
@@nothanks9503 yes I do know that. It is unrelated to my comment however. Orange juice is a pretty flabby ingredient in a cocktail. It varies greatly from orange to orange.
@@maitaioneon but if you just juiced an orange would that orange juice still be flabby?
@@nothanks9503 yes because it doesn’t have enough acidity to be a sour ingredient nor enough sugar to be a full sweetener… Plus the variation from orange to orange… From variety to variety… It’s a difficult ingredient.
Newb here. Is there a reason not to replace some of the orange with lemon juice? Like a half and half?
I'd be curious to see someone make all the orange juice cocktails with bitter orange juice (aka. Seville orange). It has a ph similar to lemon !
As a bartender I stopped using orange juice and replaced it with papaya juice, I recommend having a little at your side a small bottle after blending it use cheese cloth and strain it, and it helps keeps it traditional look.
I almost got everything for this drink, my bar keeps getting bigger. I would like to try it. Never heard of it. 👍
the even proportions are interesting, never seen it done the original way, have to try it..... I use 3 parts blended scotch, 1.5 parts OJ, 1 part vermouth, 1 part herring....tough drink to fall in love with but I prefer carpano antica as the vermouth and fresh squeezed/filtered VALENCIA oranges, which makes the sweetest and richest juice, the polar opposite of sour-adjusted juice.
Man I need to get me some Acid. and I guess also whatever you put in the Orange juice ;)
Hey, Anders! Do you know what a PHOENIX DOWN is? I had one in Dear Irving in NYC and searched for the recipe after that, but never found it. Do you know how to make a Phoenix Down for any chance?
Hey Anders, just a quick doubt, I heard from a friend that shaking cocktails with gin end up making the botanical aromas to fade away. Does it make sense?
I agree, I've never been really into a blood and sand
When I heard about this drink I thought it was a missed opportunity to not use Sangue Morlacco and blood orange! Here is my rendition.
3/4oz blood orange juice
3/4oz sweet vermouth
3/4oz Sangue Morlacco
1/2oz bourbon ( I used Old Forester 1870)
1/4oz islay scotch (I used Lagavulin 16)
I know, not a true scotch drink anymore, but I think the Morlacco and bourbon are an oak/cherry match made in heaven.
At 4:39 Anders killed my plan to comment suggesting you use a peaty scotch! I prefer my B&S to have a smaller quantity of blended scotch with some assistance from a peat-forward Islay! To me the smokiness can be balanced nicely with the sweet ingredients. I've never personally felt that what the drink was lacking was "sourness," rather the scotch needs some help shining through the other ingredients! Great episode nonetheless!
I’m curious.. there are oranges of all types.. blood oranges, mandarins, navel.. generally, OJ is made with with oranges in the navel arena, but sweetness and acidic qualities can vary. Have you tried different types of OJ and since squeezing your own juice is always an option, do you recommend anything concerning the orange juice?
I'm not a fan of sours (I always dial down the lemon juice in them, so I could feel other components better). So hearing about this one, I tried it on Xmas Eve, 1 month ago. Well, in equal parts it was... lacklustre. I made it with a Glen Scotia (Double Casked 92 proof single malt). So I decided to double the scotch volume, which filled the void and made it better.
Question. Since I’m not a scotch drinker, how do you think it would taste using a good bourbon instead?
This is my roommates favorite cocktail. Personally, I can’t stand it, so I’m interested to see your opinion on it
What about using Sicilian red oranges?They are usually more acidic than the avarege orange orange.
"Love it or hate it" is a good question. I just made this with fresh orange juice and my vermouth was Noilly Prat Rouge. After having the drink I'm still not sure if I liked it or not. It felt like a too confusing mix of flavors. Maybe the OJ doesn't mix well with the other ingredients?
Welcome back Anders, it's friends