Blackthorn (English)

Serve in a

Photographed in an

Garnish:

Orange zest twist

How to make:

STIR all ingredients with ice and strain into chilled glass.

Review:

A sloe berry-influenced fruity Perfect Martini.

Variant:

There are numerous blackthorn recipes, but they fall into two camps: one based on Irish whiskey with vermouth and absinthe and the other with gin/sloe gin and vermouth. The numbering of the various Blackthorn variations starts in the 1930 Swallows edition of Boothby's World's Drinks And How To Mix Them and continues in his posthumously published 1934 edition, where he adds the Blackthorn No. 5.
Blackthorn No. 1 - sloe gin, rosso vermouth, dry vermouth, aromatic bitters, orange bitters.
Blackthorn No. 2 - sloe gin, rosso vermouth, sugar syrup, lemon juice, aromatic bitters, orange bitters.
Blackthorn No. 3 (AKA Blackthorn Irish) - Irish whiskey, dry vermouth, absinthe, Bokers bitters.
Blackthorn No. 4 - gin, Dubonnet, kirshwasser, orange bitters.
Blackthorn No. 5 - gin, sloe gin, dry vermouth, lemon juice, sugar syrup, aromatic bitters.

History:

The Blackthorn dates back to the 1890s and the Blackthorn No. 1 appears in William "Cocktail Bill" Boothby features a version of this cocktail in his 1908 World's Drinks And How To Mix Them. This version is adapted from one of five different Blackthorn recipes in Stanley M. Jones' 1977 Jones' Complete Barguide.

BLACKTHORN
Cocktail Glass Stir
Variation
1 oz gin
1 oz sloe gin
1/4 oz dry vermouth
1/4 oz sweet vermouth
1 dash orange bitters
1 dash Angostura bitters
Lemon twist, cherry

Stanley M. Jones, 1977

Nutrition:

One serving of Blackthorn (English) contains 155 calories.

Alcohol content:

• 1.4 standard drinks
• 25.7% alc./vol. (51.4° proof)
• 19.4 grams of pure alcohol