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.
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
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'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.
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
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! 💜
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.
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.
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!
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 🤙🏻
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.
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.!
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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 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.
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!
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!
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.”
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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...
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...
Please, please try this with de Kuyper Cherry Brandy, Heering is far too jammy with few (if any) bright notes of vanilla, almond and of course cherry. Seriously it's not the recipe it's that ingredient and yes I agree with a previous remark oranges are sweeter now so a smidge of lemon might be needed. Please give this a go even if you don't make an episode it's a seriously good drink with de Kuypers. PS I'm not in any way associated with the said liquor in fact Heering and de Kuypers are owned by the same company.
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 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)
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.
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.
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.
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).
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!
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.
@@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.
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!
Let me tell you, single malt Islay is *wonderful* in this drink. It definitely is the primary note, but it doesn't dominate. Highly recommend trying it.
Okay so, I actually made this drink for the first time 2 weeks ago. My boyfriend likes to randomly hand me a glass and expects a random new drink to try so I… kinda just pick a spirit and google til I find something he might like. The recipe I used was not all equal parts, but since I follow you, I have all your brands! So please try it :) 1oz monkey shoulder 1oz herring cherry liquor 1/2 oz sweet vermouth 1/2 oz orange juice. I cannot for the life of me say why, but it smelled and tasted similar (for me and a friend) like a bananas foster. My boyfriend said he couldn’t really pick out any particular thing it tasted like to him, but he really enjoyed it. My problem with orange juice is that it tends to over power the whole drink whenever something calls for it, so I usually half the amount requested. I might have done that in this case? Idk when I find drinks that work, I write them down and that’s it. Cheers!
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'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.
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).
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...
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 liked your video. I think you were on the right track with the sourness, but since you are not in favor of this drink, you missed a few important things to balance it out properly. So here is my experience with this drink, I wanted to share with you: I love this cocktail. I discovered it in my favorite bar one time and started to make it at home, so I had it plenty, good and bad. I have to say a few things: I don’t like it with the ice crystals since they tend to water down the scotch too much, which makes this otherwise very rich and flavorful drink too thin. I think it damages the taste and the drinking experience. About the citric acid: I’m a 100% with you. The acidity of the drink is important. Yet it’s hard to get right. The reason: Oranges aren’t consistent in their acidity. You can try to find the right sort of orange that is pretty sour on its own. That way you are able to balance out the sweetness in the drink. So the rule here is, as you guessed correctly: Use sour oranges only. Next thing is, to experiment with the ratio of the ingredients. I recommend the version Robert Hess showed in his video on the Blood and Sand. Here he drops the idea of equal parts and makes the Scotch the dominant ingredient, which helps the drink a lot. To take it further with the orange, he puts orange oil on top, which is also very important to brighten up the drink and give it the right touch. So in conclusion: Make it scotch heavy, use sour oranges and put orange oil on top. That way you’ll get a nice Blood and Sand. I hope I could inspire you on your search for the perfect Blood and Sand . Thanks for spotlighting the great drink and for making fun and informative videos. I love your show, keep it up!
I’m honestly seriously confused. Like, really Anders. I absolutely LOVE this cocktail. I love it so much that I don’t mind a given bartender’s “variation”. To me it’s like saying “Manhattan, love it or hate it”. Or “Tom Collins, love it or hate it.” Or “Mai Tai, love it or hate it”. There are certain cocktails that to me are almost impossible to screw up. Blood and Sand is one of those imho. And btw, I love OJ. Love it. Maybe that’s the diff. Thanks though. Even when I disagree with you, you’re still “the cocktail god” to me! 🤣🤣🤣
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!
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.
Try tangerine/mandarin juice instead of OJ. Mind the season and combine with another citrus, including orange - I live in Turkey and we have amazing oranges sometimes tobehonest
We have a restaurant here in LA called The Dresden Room, who has this as their house drink, but theirs has rum! They are old-school, yet think theirs is authentic. Maybe you can talk to them about this variation?!?
When using orange juice in cocktails, my home grown oranges are sour so work really well. I think popular varities of oranges are sweeter, so are just better for eating. But there are so many types of oranges; some are much better for juicing in cocktails.
Have you tried with Tangerine or Tangelo fruit? Should with the zing and leans more toward grapefruit but keep the orange-y mouthfeel. I'm about to give it a test! 🤔
Heres a version I made up called the Sun and Sand. .75 oz Classic laddie .75 campari .75 vanilla blood orange syrup .75 Cerasum Best version by a long shot I've had so far, not just saying that cause I created it :D
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
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'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!
I love the live experimenting. Makes us feel like part of the process, and probably saves you time, Anders.
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.
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! 💜
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?
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.
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.
Just really appreciate your honest take on these. Teaches me a lot about the chemistry of cocktails.
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
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’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 🤙🏻
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.
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.!
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 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.
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.
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.
Once more a cocktail l did not know about and I'm looking forward to trying it... you are my favorite cocktail guy .
Happy friday Anders! Cheers!
I just made one myself... your style... and it works very well. Thx for sharing!
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.
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!
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.
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!
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've done it with fresh Blood Orange juice... very good!
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!
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.
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 use the first recipe, except I use blood orange juice and it's fantastically delicious. Would love to get your take on that!
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!!
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.
You guys are just freaking awesome!
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.
I always buy Cherry Heering but never tried it in cocktails. Tnx for great video, will make this cocktail and try🍷
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
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!
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.
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.
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.”
I absolutely love your videos! Fun and educational for both the layman and the cocktail geek. Thank you!
My favorite cocktail
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.
You guys are so fun!
the experiment like tasting was the highlight here! :D
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.
That was delightful
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.
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.
Damn! Az cleans up really nice !
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.
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...
Can you do some fall recipes with apple cider? I LOVE the Jack Rose. Great videos!!
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...
That was fun!
Please, please try this with de Kuyper Cherry Brandy, Heering is far too jammy with few (if any) bright notes of vanilla, almond and of course cherry. Seriously it's not the recipe it's that ingredient and yes I agree with a previous remark oranges are sweeter now so a smidge of lemon might be needed. Please give this a go even if you don't make an episode it's a seriously good drink with de Kuypers. PS I'm not in any way associated with the said liquor in fact Heering and de Kuypers are owned by the same company.
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!
your videos are incredible bruh I love them
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)
Great video!
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.
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.
Great “film” as always!!
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.
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).
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!
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.
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 saw that movie. 1930? It was silent, and talkies came out the year before. I will try making the cocktail.
Let me tell you, single malt Islay is *wonderful* in this drink. It definitely is the primary note, but it doesn't dominate. Highly recommend trying it.
Okay so, I actually made this drink for the first time 2 weeks ago. My boyfriend likes to randomly hand me a glass and expects a random new drink to try so I… kinda just pick a spirit and google til I find something he might like.
The recipe I used was not all equal parts, but since I follow you, I have all your brands! So please try it :)
1oz monkey shoulder
1oz herring cherry liquor
1/2 oz sweet vermouth
1/2 oz orange juice.
I cannot for the life of me say why, but it smelled and tasted similar (for me and a friend) like a bananas foster. My boyfriend said he couldn’t really pick out any particular thing it tasted like to him, but he really enjoyed it.
My problem with orange juice is that it tends to over power the whole drink whenever something calls for it, so I usually half the amount requested. I might have done that in this case? Idk when I find drinks that work, I write them down and that’s it.
Cheers!
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.
Gotta love Az's reaction to the acid-adjusted version. They eyes say it all.
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.
Exactly what I wanted. INCONCLUSIVE! 🤣🤣
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).
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...
Thoughts on splitting the OJ with some lemon juice? Or maybe something like meyer lemons?
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 🍻
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. 😂
Dude! Oz got engaged!! How fun and congrats! Who is the lucky guy?
I liked your video. I think you were on the right track with the sourness, but since you are not in favor of this drink, you missed a few important things to balance it out properly. So here is my experience with this drink, I wanted to share with you:
I love this cocktail. I discovered it in my favorite bar one time and started to make it at home, so I had it plenty, good and bad. I have to say a few things: I don’t like it with the ice crystals since they tend to water down the scotch too much, which makes this otherwise very rich and flavorful drink too thin. I think it damages the taste and the drinking experience.
About the citric acid: I’m a 100% with you. The acidity of the drink is important. Yet it’s hard to get right. The reason: Oranges aren’t consistent in their acidity. You can try to find the right sort of orange that is pretty sour on its own. That way you are able to balance out the sweetness in the drink. So the rule here is, as you guessed correctly: Use sour oranges only.
Next thing is, to experiment with the ratio of the ingredients. I recommend the version Robert Hess showed in his video on the Blood and Sand. Here he drops the idea of equal parts and makes the Scotch the dominant ingredient, which helps the drink a lot. To take it further with the orange, he puts orange oil on top, which is also very important to brighten up the drink and give it the right touch. So in conclusion:
Make it scotch heavy, use sour oranges and put orange oil on top. That way you’ll get a nice Blood and Sand.
I hope I could inspire you on your search for the perfect Blood and Sand . Thanks for spotlighting the great drink and for making fun and informative videos. I love your show, keep it up!
I’m honestly seriously confused. Like, really Anders. I absolutely LOVE this cocktail. I love it so much that I don’t mind a given bartender’s “variation”. To me it’s like saying “Manhattan, love it or hate it”. Or “Tom Collins, love it or hate it.” Or “Mai Tai, love it or hate it”. There are certain cocktails that to me are almost impossible to screw up. Blood and Sand is one of those imho. And btw, I love OJ. Love it. Maybe that’s the diff.
Thanks though. Even when I disagree with you, you’re still “the cocktail god” to me! 🤣🤣🤣
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!
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.
Try tangerine/mandarin juice instead of OJ. Mind the season and combine with another citrus, including orange - I live in Turkey and we have amazing oranges sometimes tobehonest
Future video idea! What are your wedding cocktails going to be?
I use campari instead of cherry liqueur. That way it changes orange taste to more like a grapefruit. And add little bit of honey
great video! Question though: where do you get your ice? Brand name?
I go with acid adjusted orange but also double the ratio of scotch.
So 1 oz scotch, and 1/2 oz each of everything else
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 !
We have a restaurant here in LA called The Dresden Room, who has this as their house drink, but theirs has rum! They are old-school, yet think theirs is authentic. Maybe you can talk to them about this variation?!?
When using orange juice in cocktails, my home grown oranges are sour so work really well. I think popular varities of oranges are sweeter, so are just better for eating. But there are so many types of oranges; some are much better for juicing in cocktails.
Have you tried with Tangerine or Tangelo fruit? Should with the zing and leans more toward grapefruit but keep the orange-y mouthfeel. I'm about to give it a test! 🤔
Update: very nice with tangerine. Might opt for rye base next time though
Will it also work with adding OJ and a bit of lemon / lime instead of the acid adjusted?
What about using Sicilian red oranges?They are usually more acidic than the avarege orange orange.
Heres a version I made up called the Sun and Sand.
.75 oz Classic laddie
.75 campari
.75 vanilla blood orange syrup
.75 Cerasum
Best version by a long shot I've had so far, not just saying that cause I created it :D