Blackthorn No. 5

Serve in a

Garnish:

Lemon zest twist

How to make:

SHAKE all ingredients with ice and fine strain into chilled glass.

Recipe contains the following allergens:

• Strucchi Dry Vermouth – Sulphur Dioxide/Sulphites

Review:

Sloeberry fruit and gin form the backbone of this aperitivo/digestivo, which is freshened by a splash of lemon juice and opened by being shaken. (Other versions of the Blackthorne tend to be stirred.)

Variant:

There are numerous blackthorn recipes, but they fall into two camps: one based on Irish whisky 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.
Blackthorn (English) - gin, sloe gin, rosso vermouth, dry vermouth, orange bitters, aromatic bitters.

History:

William "Cocktail Bill" Boothby features a version of this cocktail in his 1908 World's Drinks And How To Mix Them. By the 1930 Swallows edition of his book, Boothby adds three numbered variations to the original Blackthorn recipe, but this fifth version doesn't appear until the posthumously published 1934 edition.

BLACKTHORN
Sloe Gin . . . . . . . . . ⅓
It. Vermouth . . . . . ⅓
Fr. Vermouth . . . . ⅓
Orange bitters . . . . 1 dash
bitters . . . . . . . . . . . 2 drops
Stir well with ice, strain into chilled glass, twist lemon peel over and serve.

BLACKTHORN, NO. 2
Sloe Gin . . . . . . . . . ⅓
Bitters . . . . . . . . . . . 2 drops
It. Vermouth . . . . . ⅓
Sweet-Sour . . . . . . 1 spoon
Orange bitters . . . . 2 dashes
Stir well with ice, strain into chilled glass and serve.

BLACKTHORN, NO. 3
Whiskey . . . . . . . . . ½ jigger
Fr. Vermouth . . . . . ½ jigger
Absinthe . . . . . . . . . 1 spoon
Bitters . . . . . . . . . . 3 drops
Stir well with ice, strain into chilled glass and serve.

BLACKTHORN, NO. 4
Gin . . . . . . . . . . . . . ½ jigger
Dubonnet . . . . . . . . ¼ jigger
Kirschwasser . . . . . ¼ jigger
Stir well with ice, strain into chilled glass and serve.

BLACKTHORN, NO. 5
Sloe Gin . . . . . . . . . ½ jigger
Gin . . . . . . . . . . . . . ¼ jigger
Fr. Vermouth . . . . ¼ jigger
Sweet-Sour . . . . . . 1 spoon
Bitters . . . . . . . . . . 2 drops
Shake well with ice, strain into chilled glass, twist lemon peel over and serve.

William Boothby, The World's Drinks And How To Mix Them, 1934

Nutrition:

One serving of Blackthorn No. 5 contains 185 calories.

Alcohol content:

• 1.3 standard drinks
• 19.22% alc./vol. (38.44° proof)
• 18.8 grams of pure alcohol