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Blood and Sand

Blood and Sand cocktail with an orange twist
Blood and Sand cocktail with an orange twist

“Shake well and strain into cocktail glass.” In Harry Craddock's 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book, that brisk instruction brings together four equal parts: Scotch whisky, cherry brandy, Italian vermouth and orange juice. It is the earliest printed Blood and Sand recipe found, and its proportions remain the place to begin.[1][2]

Start with those four ingredients in balance, rather than a particular brand or a later variation. For the wider world of whisky drinks, see our whisky cocktails guide.

Make a Blood and Sand

Recipe card

Source: Difford's Guide's classic formula, with its equal proportions intact. The metric measures below are rounded conversions of its ¾ fl oz measures, rather than a separately tested site recipe.[6]

  • Serves: one.
  • Glass: chilled coupe.
  • Ice: for shaking.
  • Garnish: orange zest twist.
  • Origin: whether the name comes from the film rather than the novel is disputed.[2][7]

Ingredients

  • About 22 ml (¾ fl oz) blended Scotch whisky
  • About 22 ml (¾ fl oz) cherry (brandy) liqueur
  • About 22 ml (¾ fl oz) rosso vermouth
  • About 22 ml (¾ fl oz) fresh orange juice

Method

  1. Put the four ingredients into a shaker with ice.
  2. Shake, then fine strain into the chilled coupe.
  3. Express the orange zest over the drink and use it as the garnish.[6]

The ice, chilled coupe and orange twist follow Difford's method. The 1930 Savoy entry is sparer: shake and strain into a cocktail glass. It specifies neither a garnish nor a brand.[1][6]

Keep the serving measured, with water, food and breaks. At a tasting, spitting is normal, and nobody needs to finish a glass.

What goes into the glass

Each ingredient gets one quarter of the Savoy drink. The whisky is simply “Scotch Whisky”, with no distinction between blended and single malt. Both the Oxford Companion and Difford's choose blended Scotch for their versions.[1][2][6]

For the cherry ingredient, look for what Difford's calls “cherry (brandy) liqueur”. Its rosso vermouth corresponds to the original recipe's Italian vermouth. Those ingredient descriptions are the practical checklist; a modern preference for a particular brand is not part of the historical formula.[1][6]

Both modern references specify fresh orange juice. Craddock's ingredient list says only orange juice, so the instruction to use fresh juice belongs to those later versions.[1][2][6]

Origin: four equal parts in print

The Blood and Sand enters the printed record in 1930, in The Savoy Cocktail Book, compiled by Harry Craddock. The opened New York printing, published by Richard R. Smith Inc., gives the recipe on page 30: equal quarters of orange juice, Scotch whisky, cherry brandy and Italian vermouth.[1][2]

The creator and original bar are not reliably established. Fernando Castellon and David Wondrich's Oxford Companion entry describes the drink's parentage as unknown and corroborates its first printed appearance. The Savoy text supplies the recipe, method and printed page.[1][2]

For anyone following the recipe back to the book, the edition matters. Page 30 refers specifically to the digitised New York printing. The Oxford Companion cites the London Constable edition of 1930, so that page reference should not be assumed to apply to every edition.[1][2]

Last checked: November 2026. The exact day must be confirmed before publication.

Verdict badge

claim: The earliest printed recipe found appeared in The Savoy Cocktail Book in 1930, with four equal parts.

verdict: Documented

No earlier printed recipe was found in the sources checked. The first mixing is unknown, and its date is not established; the earliest known printed source remains The Savoy Cocktail Book, 1930.[1][2]

sources: Savoy, 1930; Oxford Companion entry.

last_checked: November 2026. The exact day must be confirmed before publication.

Film or novel?

The claim that the cocktail takes its name from Valentino's film rather than the novel is disputed. Difford's identifies the film as the namesake; the Oxford Companion says “apparently”, but adds that the novel cannot be dismissed.[2][7]

The film dates are clear. The American Film Institute records Valentino's Blood and Sand at a Los Angeles pre-release event on 6 August 1922, followed by its opening at New York's Rivoli on 7 August 1922.[3]

Verdict badge

  • claim: The cocktail was named after Valentino's film rather than the novel.
  • verdict: Disputed
  • what_the_record_shows: Difford's identifies the film as the namesake. The Oxford Companion leaves the novel in contention.[2][7]
  • evidence_against_or_gap: The accounts differ over whether the name can be pinned to the film.[2][7]
  • earliest_known_source: Not established from the sources checked.
  • sources: Oxford Companion entry, Difford's account.
  • last_checked: November 2026. The exact day must be confirmed before publication.

Later versions, not corrections

The proportions endure; the serving size and finishing touches vary. The Oxford Companion gives 45 ml each of blended Scotch, cherry brandy, Italian vermouth and fresh orange juice, shaken and strained, then garnished with a cherry.[2]

That keeps the Savoy's equal quarters while making a larger serving than the recipe card above. The cherry garnish belongs to this modern version; the 1930 Savoy recipe specifies no garnish.[1][2]

Difford's separate house version takes another route. It adds about 5 ml (⅙ fl oz) of peated single malt and increases the orange juice to about 30 ml (1 fl oz). A skewered maraschino cherry supplies the garnish; orange zest is expressed and discarded.[7]

The Oxford Companion also records modern shifts towards more whisky, or single malt in place of blended Scotch. Critics reported by the Oxford Companion describe the drink as “unfocused and muddy-tasting”.[2]

Common mistakes

Treating the compiler as the inventor. Boston.com attributes the cocktail to Harry Craddock at the Savoy's American Bar in the early 1920s.[11] The distinction is between compiling the book and creating the drink.

Verdict badge

claim: That attribution establishes Craddock as the drink's creator.

verdict: Legend

what_the_record_shows: Craddock compiled the book containing the earliest printed recipe found; this does not establish that he invented the drink.[1][2]

evidence_against_or_gap: The Oxford Companion describes its parentage as unknown. The creator and original bar are not reliably established.[2]

earliest_known_source: Not established from the sources checked.

sources: Boston.com account; Oxford Companion entry; Savoy, 1930.

last_checked: November 2026. The exact day must be confirmed before publication.

Calling Cherry Heering an original requirement. The Savoy entry asks for “Cherry Brandy” and names no brand. A later recipe's choice of cherry liqueur should stay attached to that version, rather than becoming an original requirement.[1]

Confusing first printing with first mixing. The 1930 appearance dates the recipe's documented life in print. It does not establish when someone first combined its four ingredients.[1][2]

Where to go next

  • Rob Roy: read the companion recipe.
  • Rusty Nail: explore another cocktail in this collection.
  • Penicillin: continue through the whisky cocktail recipes.

Sources

[1] Harry Craddock, compiler; Richard R. Smith Inc., New York. The Savoy Cocktail Book, 1930 printing, page 30. Digitised by Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/savoycocktailboo0000vari

[2] Fernando Castellon and David Wondrich; Oxford University Press. “The Blood and Sand”, The Oxford Companion to Spirits & Cocktails, edition reproduced by Spirits and Distilling, checked November 2026. https://www.spiritsanddistilling.com/dictionary/acref-9780199311132-e-255

[3] American Film Institute. AFI Catalog: Blood and Sand (1922), catalogue record, checked November 2026. https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/2919

[6] Difford's Guide. Blood and Sand (Classic formula), online recipe and historical account, checked November 2026. https://www.diffordsguide.com/cocktails/recipe/244/blood-and-sand-classic-formula

[7] Difford's Guide. Blood and Sand (Difford's recipe), online recipe and historical account, checked November 2026. https://www.diffordsguide.com/cocktails/recipe/556/blood-and-sand-diffords-recipe

[11] Boston.com. Recipe: How to make a Blood and Sand cocktail, online article, checked November 2026. https://www.boston.com/food/cocktail-club/2021/03/23/recipe-blood-and-sand-scotch-whisky-cocktail/

This desk-researched article uses the supplied verified fact sheet, distinguishing its original printed recipe from modern specifications and historical interpretations.

Last checked: November 2026