Author: Nick

The Blood & Sand is the sort of cocktail that you look at on paper and question why someone would put those particular ingredients together.  The start seems fine, scotch and sweet vermouth puts us well on the way to a Rob Roy.   A bit of cherry liqueur, a little unusual, but it seems reasonable.  But orange juice?!  Orange juice already make very few appearances in classic cocktails, and even less with scotch, so does it work?

Blood & Sand

Blood & Sand

¾ oz

Scotch

¾ oz

Sweet Vermouth

¾ oz

Cherry Heering

¾ oz

Orange Juice

Combine all ingredients in a shaker. Add ice and shake. Double strain into a chilled coupe. No garnish.

The Blood & Sand is a complicated drink.  It spans a spectrum of flavors ranging from spiced to smokey to fruity to sweet, and bouncing between them as it feels is appropriate.  The scotch here is going to be a key player adding notes ranging from grain to smoke depending on your selection. The complexity of the vermouth pinballs off the scotch and pulls in a variety of fruity notes from both the cherry liqueur and the orange.  The finish is drier than you might expect for a drink this sweet, but still quite interesting.

Drink Notes & Recommendations

The Blood & Sand is a member of the equal parts club in it’s original orientation.  This is probably the most debated structure for this classic, but where you should start from as a template.  The most common adjustments are to accentuate the scotch and give the orange juice more of a chance to show its merits.  In this case, we recommend adjusting both ingredients up by a 1/4 oz.

The level of smoke should also be an are you consider for adjustment.  Although it doesn’t necessarily call for smoke, the addition of peated whiskey (either by splitting up the base) or by switching completely to a peated scotch can really give a brilliant scotch forward kick to this classic.

• Scotch – We recommend you start with some rich, round, and lower on the peat side of the spectrum.  Both Glenlivet 12 and Great King Street Artist’s Blend work well here.  A little bit of smoke from the addition of Ardbeg or Johnnie Walker Black can add another dimension.
• Sweet Vermouth – Carpano Antica adds a lot of punch to this drink to help round things out.  More floral scotches could also work well with a lighter vermouth such as Dolin.
• Cherry Heering – Heering is a branded liqueur, but the point is that it’s cherry based.  There are other cherry based liqueurs on the market (we used one from Luxardo’s Cherry Liqueur here), but you could also use cherry schnapps or maraschiano liqueur if you can’t access a cherry liqueur.  This will alter the flavor considerably.
• Orange Juice – Use fresh squeezed to avoid tinny flavors and to best compliment the scotch and cherry flavors.

The Hanky Panky originated at the Savoy Hotel under the leadership of head bartender Ada Coleman between 1903 and 1926.  Reportedly, the drink was made for an actor, Charles Hawtrey, who exclaimed, “By Jove! This is a real hanky panky”.  The name stuck, and the drink ended up in the Savoy Cocktail Book.  While the original cocktail called for equal parts dry gin and sweet vermouth, most modern variations have upped the gin to move the end drink into something that more closely resembles a Negroni than a Manhattan.  With the flavors in question though, either camp should consider giving this one a try.

Hanky Panky

Hanky Panky

2 oz

London Dry Gin

1 ½ oz

Sweet Vermouth

¼ oz

Fernet Branca

1

Orange Twist

Combine all ingredients in a mixing vessel. Add ice and stir. Double strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with an orange twist.

The herbal notes of the gin compliment nicely with the fruitiness and nutty character of the vermouth.  The stronger, alpine bitter herbs and the touches of mintiness bring a unique complexity to the mix.  The result is something that isn’t completely off base for lovers of Negronis or Manhattans, but cranks the complexity up to 11.

Drink Notes & Recommendations:

The balance in the Hanky Panky is tricky due to the dependency of the amount of Fernet Branca with the sweetness of the vermouth.  That said, if you are between an eighth and a quarter of an ounce, you should be quite happy with the results.  To a certain degree this depends on your vermouth, with something complex like Carpano Antica being able to stand up to more Fernet.  A lot of this will be personal preference, and your mileage may vary.

• Gin – A firm London Dry is going to work best here, standing up to the Fernet and working with sweet vermouth nicely.  We used Beefeater, but would also recommend trying this with Tanqueray or Bombay Sapphire.
• Sweet Vermouth – A complex vermouth like Carpano Antica plays well here, but you could also lighten things up something more easy going.  The key will be to adjust the balance by bringing the amount of Fernet up or down based on preference.
• Fernet Branca – This Italian digestif is not everyone’s favorite flavor.  It’s bitter, it’s herbal, it’s kind of minty, and very polarizing.  If you’re not sure if you enjoy it, we recommend you make your first past at this cocktail at 1/8 of an ounce (.125 oz) to determine your enjoyment level.  You can also use other Fernets if you happen to find this drink to your liking.
• Glassware –   It is appropriate to serve this drink in either a coupe or Nick & Nora.

The Rusty Nail is yet another cocktail that seemingly explodes out of nowhere and enjoys a (in cocktail terms) long run of popularity.  It shows up somewhere between 1940 and 1950, before being introduced to the Rat Pack.  The result was people across the country enjoying Rusty Nails, before suddenly, they disappear from restaurant menus and cocktail drinker’s minds.  Which is a shame, because as classics go, this simple two part recipe of scotch and scotch based liqueur has a lot going for it to keep you coming back.

Rusty Nail

Rusty Nail

1 ½ oz

Scotch

¾ oz

Drambuie

Combine all ingredients in a mixing vessel. Add ice and stir. Strain into a rocks glass over a large fresh ice cube. No garnish.

The Rusty Nail is a classic cocktail that balances rich and sweet beautifully. The scotch provides cereal notes, earthy touches, hints of smoke, and notes of pome fruit. The Drambuie kicks it into high gear with more floral notes from the heather, baking spices, orange peel, and marmalade. The result is complex and warm cocktail, with a strong backbone and smooth, rich, mouth feel.

Drink Notes & Recommendations

I have an old love of this drink from my days late in college.  It has a complexity that varies with the scotch applied, but yet conveys a certain sophistication without being overwhelmingly boozy and aggressive.  Perhaps the only debate with the Rusty Nail is ratio. While the original spec is 2:1, 1:1 ratios aren’t uncommon (although they are quite sweet). Some modern interpretations go the other way, recommending a drier, more scotch forward 4:1 ratio. Our recommendation is that you start with the original recipe listed here, before adjusting to taste.

The simplicity of this drink also makes it a good drink for those experimenting with scotch or cocktails. If a bar has Drambuie, they can make this drink.  At only two ingredients it’s also a great beginner cocktail that demonstrates how a drink can be more than the sum of it’s parts.

• Scotch – Scotch makes up over 60% of this drink, so the choice of scotch matters.  In general, Drambuie works better with lighter, less peat heavy scotches.   These scotches allow the floral notes to shine, while also giving room for the spice and orange to tease more out of the scotch.  We would recommend Glenlivet 12, Great King Street Artist’s Blend (which we used for this Rusty Nail), or Dewar’s White Label.
• Drambuie – Drambuie is a scotch based liqueur that gives off floral, honey, spice, and orange notes.  There aren’t a lot of scotch based liqueurs that are widely available, so Drambuie is probably your best bet.  The flavor profile might be closest to Benedictine, but it won’t be nearly as good as Drambuie in this drink.  Use the original spec whenever possible for best results.

Named after an iconic LA Restaurant, the Brown Derby is a classic that can highlight the impact of grapefruit juice with aged spirits.  While grapefruit juice normally serves as a refreshing note with unaged liquors like rum and gin, with spirits like whiskey it can add weight and complexity to a drink.  When working with grapefruit juice, there are two things to be aware of.

1. Grapefruit juice is notorious for interacting with certain medications – so be sure to ask guests prior to serving them a drink containing grapefruit juice.
2. Grapefruit juice is subject to swings in sweetness and acidity.  Try your grapefruit juice before you use it to determine if you’ll need additional acidity (lemon or lime) or sweetness (simple syrup or base sweetener for the cocktail you’re creating).

Brown Derby

Brown Derby

2 oz

Bourbon

1 oz

Grapefruit Juice

½ oz

Rich Honey Syrup

Combine all ingredients in a shaker. Add ice and shake. Double strain into a chilled coupe. No garnish.

The Brown Derby is a rich, balanced drink that delivers subtle complexity and well layered flavors.  The sweetness gives a round start, while the grapefruit quickly adds levity.  The bourbon covers the mid-palate, adding spice and oak notes that beautifully compliment the honey that runs throughout.  The overall drink is simple but invites you to enjoy it’s complexity.

Drink Notes & Recommendations

The Brown Derby is an easy drink to forget about, but not one you should sleep on.  It’s delicious, and easy to make.

• Bourbon – The richness of the honey and slight bitterness and tang of the grapefruit give you a lot of leeway on this cocktail.  The bourbons that will work best add complexity, so consider those that additional spicing or fruity flavors.  We used Elijah Craig Small Batch in our test, but would also recommend Wild Turkey 101 or 1792 Small Batch.
• Grapefruit – There’s a strange flavor when it comes to store bought packaged grapefruit juice.  It’s not quite metallic, but it definitely isn’t right compared to fresh squeezed.   Avoid the packaged juice for this recipe, and go fresh squeezed.
• Rich Honey Simple Syrup – See the recipe listed below:

Rich Honey Syrup

• 200 g Honey
• 85 g Water
• 15 g 150+ Proof Neutral Grain Spirit or Vodka (Optional)

Combine water and honey in an 8 oz mason jar and seal. Sous vide at 145 degrees for 2 hr. Remove from the water bath and allow to cool. Once cool, bottle.  If desired, add 15 g of 150+ Proof Neutral Grain Spirit or vodka if desired. Shake gently to combine.  Refrigerate.