One of the few classic cocktails to include scotch, this cocktail was named after the 1922 Rudolph Valentino movie and first appeared in Harry Craddock’s 1930 The Savoy Cocktail Book. This drink’s popularity seems to ebb and flow, but I will wager that if you try it, this scotch based cocktail will become a perennial favorite. I decided to try making this classic using a new single malt scotch I recently found – Glen Fohdry from William S. Grant. This scotch is perfectly enjoyable neat, so I decided why not give it a try in this cocktail. The results were… well, less than impressive. There was a pronounced bitter aspect and unbalance between the scotch and other ingredients, typical of most scotch based cocktails (i.e. scotch is the bully in the glass!). Undaunted, I opted to try a different scotch. Given the Glen Fohdry Dublaich is a Speyside scotch finished in bourbon casks, for the second test I opted to use a Highland scotch finished in sherry casks. This scotch is also very enjoyable neat – Grangestone sherry finish. The resulting cocktail was much better. The Grangestone scotch played nicely with the other ingredients and provided a delightfully harmonious experience on the palate. So we have my preliminary results on this cocktail by experimenting with two different scotches. Drink the Glen Fohdry neat and if you desire a Blood and Sand, use the Grangestone Sherry finish for a delicious drink. You are very welcome!

Fill a mixing glass or shaker 2/3 with ice. Add all the ingredients, except garnish, to the mixing glass or shaker. Shake and strain into a chilled martini or cocktail glass. Garnish with a twisted orange peel and cherry.

Enjoy!