When you try some cocktails, you ask yourself is this right. For me one experience I have had of this is the Blood and Sand. Whisky, orange juice, vermouth and cherry liqueur, each of the ingredients on their own is tasty, however I should have been able to guess the flavour profile before making the cocktail. The herbs of the vermouth, the cherry of the cherry liqueur and the earthiness of the whisky merges together in a medicinally tasting mixture. This medicinal characteristic of this cocktail is what makes me feel like it is all wrong. The taste is distinctive, and it would not seem unreasonable that this cocktail would be to the liking of many others, but I, personally, don’t like a cocktail that tastes like cough syrup. If you like medicinal cocktails then this is a great cocktail, I would recommend this cocktail with the slight warning that it is distinctive.

This cocktail is rather unique the way it is made that it is a shaken cocktail with sweet vermouth. Sweet vermouth tends to give the cocktail some foam on top, though nothing like egg white or pineapple. The whisky I used was perhaps not the best suited for this. I would recommend something more balanced than a single malt. A good blended whisky is what I would recommend. Further, the recommendation would be that the whisky should not be noticeably smoky, which is what I think threw me off this cocktail. With vermouth, it should have a good vermouth, with orange juice it should be fresh. The cherry liqueur should also have a high standard.

My recipe:

• 1.5 oz (4.5 cl) Scotch Whisky
• 0.75 oz (2.25 cl) Orange Juice
• 0.5 oz (1.5 cl) Cherry Liqueur
• 0.5 oz (1.5 cl) Sweet Vermouth

Add the ingredients to a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled coupe glass. Serve ungarnished.