Name: Blood and Sand (Difford's recipe)
Total time: 4 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 30 ml Scotch whisky; 22.5 ml Cherry brandy; 22.5 ml Rosso/sweet vermouth; 5 ml Peated malt whisky; 30 ml Orange juice

Blood and Sand (Difford's recipe)
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Serve in a Coupe glass

Ingredients:
1 oz	Blended Scotch whisky
³⁄₄ oz	Heering Cherry Liqueur
³⁄₄ oz	Strucchi Rosso Vermouth
¹⁄₆ oz	Torabhaig Peated Single Malt Whisky optional
1 oz	Orange juice (freshly squeezed)

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

Select and pre-chill a Coupe glass.
Prepare garnish of orange zest twist and Luxardo Maraschino Cherry.
SHAKE all ingredients with ice.
FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.
Express orange zest twist over cocktail and discard. Garnish with maraschino cherry.

Allergens:

Recipe contains the following allergens:

Rosso/rouge/sweet vermouth (di Torino) - Sulphur Dioxide/Sulphites

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Review:

The equal parts Blood and Sand (scotch, cherry brandy, sweet vermouth, and orange juice) formula from the 1930 The Savoy Cocktail Book is the accepted classic Blood & Sand recipe but results in a cocktail that's a tad sweet for hardened whisky drinkers. This formula, with slightly increased Scotch and orange juice, is dryer and fresher. Those with a taste for Scotch and a slightly drier drink may also appreciate the additional spoon of Islay malt.

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Variant:

Blood and Sand (classic recipe)
Velasco and Sand
Gringo's Blood & Sand
Iron and Sand
Peat, Blood, Sweat & Sand/a>
Bloody Blood & Sand
Perfectly Straight Blood & Sand.
Dutch Blood and Sand
Wood Sap & Sand

History:

Probably the best-known Scotch whisky-based cocktail, the Blood & Sand was created in 1922 and is named after Rudolph Valentino's Blood & Sand bullfighter movie which was released the same year.

Based on the 1909 Spanish novel Sangre y arena (Blood and Sand) by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez and the play by Thomas Cushing, the silent film was a box office hit. It tells the dramatic story of Juan Gallardo (Valentino), a poor village boy who grows up to become one of the greatest matadors in Spain. He marries his childhood sweetheart, the beautiful and virtuous Carmen, but once rich and famous, is seduced by a wealthy widow. They embark on a torrid affair, but feeling guilty he tries to end the affair. Furious at his rejection, his lover exposes their affair to his wife. Distracted and depressed, he becomes reckless in the arena and, somewhat predictably, is killed in a bullfight. However, in true Hollywood style, just moments before his death, he manages to reconcile with his wife, Carmen, who is naturally grief-stricken. The end.

Who was inspired by the film to make the cocktail is unknown, but it first appears in Harry Craddock's 1930 The Savoy Cocktail Book. The deep amber-red cherry brandy is said to represent blood and the orange juice, the sand of the arena.

More cocktails by Simon Difford

Nutrition:

One serving of Blood and Sand (Difford's recipe) contains 206 calories

Alcohol content:

1.2 standard drinks
15.57% alc./vol. (15.57° proof)
17.1 grams of pure alcohol

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Difford’s Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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Showing 10 of 24 comments for Blood and Sand (Difford's recipe).
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Angela Dixon

2nd July at 19:02

I made this with a far too nice to use in a cocktail in that amount Islay malt for all the whisky, no cherry stuff because who has that in their cabinet? and Ulrich vermouth rosso which is a posh rosso and of course the OJ. It is very nice and wonderfully smoky

Ruth Harvey

12th June at 20:22

We visited the Torabhaig Distillery last week so it was great to find a Diffords cocktail using their fine malt. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
Probably my favourite version of B&S so far...but I might need to go back to check 😉

Chris Brislawn

13th March at 02:35

Like Difford's proportions. Used blended scotch (Isle of Skye) this time and cut the Peat Monster back to 1 tsp. The flavor is particularly nice with blood orange juice ("Blood Orange and Sand"?), which also gives it much more of a Sangre De Toro color.

Calvin Grant

21st January 2024 at 02:56

Simply supurb! Added Ardbeg for the Islay.

Brent Peters

18th January 2024 at 01:35

Excellent version. I sometimes substitute sweetened cranberry juice for the orange juice for a pleasant variation.

william dennehy

9th January 2024 at 20:22

Another perfect drink.......

Lynn Garvie

29th October 2023 at 00:08

This Difford Blood and Sand recipe is a great improvement on the classic.
I used Famous Grouse Smoky Black for the blended whisky and worried that adding the Ardbeg would overpower the drink with smokiness, but the quantities are spot on to balance out the smoke, booze and sweetness.
A super tasty and repeatable drink!

Avery Garnett

23rd October 2023 at 18:22

An improvement over the original? Absolutely. A good drink? Yes. Unfortunately it's not just muddy in colour but the whole drink feels...well, muddy. It's bitter(ish) but not strong, it's fruity but not sweet or long. It feels just quite out of place. But an improved drink nonetheless.

Simon Difford

24th October 2023 at 09:23

Perhaps a splash of cleansing lemon juice would improve?

1 reply

Chris Brislawn

4th October 2023 at 01:51

No blended scotch so used Glenlivet and 1/4 oz Peat Monster, which made for a nice, smoky cocktail. Also added a couple dashes Fee Bros. cherry bitters to counteract the sweetness a bit.

Mark Wilson

18th June 2023 at 03:31

The B&S has nice balance but haven't had Heering since my Singapore Sling phase; subbed Kirschwasser. Off topic: Don't know what I made but subbed Barr Hill gin for blended scotch, Schladerer Kirchwasser, Carpano Antica, fresh OJ, and XXV Glenlivet drizzle (just a drizzle don't crucify me). Its a nirvana milkshake.