Blood and Sand

Blood and Sand

1 ounces blended Scotch whisky
1 ounces orange juice
0.75 ounces cherry brandy (Cherry Heering or Cherry Marnier)
0.75 ounces sweet vermouth

Shake all ingredients well and strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with orange twist or brandied cherry.

This recipe doesn’t look like it could possibly work. And yet it does, and when well balanced, it works very, very well. The scotch is strong enough to stand up to the cherry brandy and sweet vermouth, while the orange juice gives a nice balance throughout.

This is frequently given as an equal parts recipe (as it is in the BarSmarts workbook), but I find that version too sweet and heavy. Increasing the Scotch and orange juice creates a nice blend of flavors, allowing the Scotch to show itself without overpowering the whole drink.

While I frequently double strain orange juice cocktails, I like how the pulp gives the “sand” look to this drink.

This cocktail packs a lot of flavor punch, while being relatively mild in terms of alcohol; Cherry Heering is 24% ABV/48 proof.

I haven’t yet seen the namesake 1922 movie, which is based on a novel by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez in which Valentino plays a bullfighter who rises to the top, marries is sweetheart, has an affair, and dies in the arena. Nor have I seen the 1941 Tyrone Power remake. I hadn’t even heard of the 1989 remake staring Sharon Stone as the mistress. I shall put at least the Valentino original on my Netflix list, and will be sure to sip a delightful Scotch cocktail while viewing it.

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Bellini

Bellini

1.5 ounces white peach puree
4 ounces prosecco
1 dash grenadine

Add peach puree to champagne flute and top with prosecco. Give gentle stir to incorporate.

Given that I live well outside of the peach tree’s comfort zone, and peaches tend to ripen from May to August, I wasn’t surprised I couldn’t find any fresh peaches. Instead, I relied on frozen peach slices.

Peach Puree

1 bag frozen peach slices (white if possible)

Let peach slices begin to thaw, then blend into a puree in a food processor.

I couldn’t find any white peach slices, so I relied on the more common peach, which is more tart than the white. I added a dash of grenadine to add some extra sweetness.

Overall, I find this an odd choice for a definitive list of cocktails. It’s really quite simple and bland. I can see how it had risen to the category of brunch staple. I’ll take a French 75 or Mimosa instead.

If I ever get the chance to try one with fresh white peach puree, I’ll be happy to reevaluate my opinion. Perhaps I need to take a trip to Venice, to visit Harry’s Bar, where the drink was invented. While there, I’ll be sure to take in the works of painter Giovanni Bellini, the Venetian artist for whom the drink was named.

What’s your favorite brunch cocktail?

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Essential Extra Tack

This was the first time I made it to the Northwest Peruvian Horse Club‘s wine ride. This year we toured five wineries in the Rattlesnake Hills AVA. We were led by Linda Spurlock of Severino Cellars and Shannon Bird, Executive Director of the Rattlesnake Hill’s Wine Trail, who were able to join us on Peruvians due to the generosity of Dennis Brown, who also did a great job of organizing the ride for the club.

We met and tacked up at Severino Cellars, which is so new they are doing their tasting room out of their RV. I particularly enjoyed their Viognier. Linda also informed us about the Rattlesnake Hills Wine Trail Passport. For $10, Passport holders receive several benefits, from waived tasting fees to excellent discounts on bottles of wine. Mine was definitely worth the $10.

After our first tasting, we saddled up and took the short ride over to Two Mountain Winery. Here we took turns holding each others horses and going in to the tasting room. I liked their off-dry Riesling enough to pick up a couple of bottles.

Then it was through the vineyards and orchards up to a large irrigation canal for the longest leg of the ride, over to Silver Lake Winery. By far the largest winery we visited (and apparently the largest consumer-owned winery in Washington), it was very busy when we arrived. Naturally we made quite a stir when we showed up and rode through the parking lot. The winery had a couple of hitching posts we were able to use, but not enough for our entire party of 17 riders.

The Passport let us waive the $5 tasting fee for the cask wine list. It was quite a selection. As usual, I restricted myself to the whites.¹ Their Roza Rose was such a perfect summer wine that we bought a chilled bottle to share with everybody before we got back on. I also picked up a couple of bottles of Riesling.

The Haul

And just how did I handle carrying all this wine I was buying? Why, I put it in the chase car, naturally! Two club members, Randy Eldridge and Pedro Cantaro, were kind enough to drive instead of ride. They arrived at each winery ahead of us, and let us put our bottles in the car. They even brought them back to the starting point and let us have them back!

And it was a good thing that car was there when we got to the fourth winery, Paradisos del Sol. I was lucky enough to have a tasting lead by the winemaker, Paul Vandenberg, a man who is passionate about wine and its history. The mantra at the tasting was “sip, sip, taste, sip.” The wines were all paired with food. Only after taking the first tasting sips do you try the food, then sip again to see the difference. I’ve been taught this before, and it’s a great way to taste wine. Some wines are great alone, some truly come into their own when paired with the right food.

The whites were paired with a couple of different dips. The real fun came with the dessert wines. The Angelica G was paired with a piece of pear. For the port, there was chocolate to warm in our mouths and then taste the port again. And for the Botrytis Riesling, we were asked to toast mini marshmallows over a candle.

The real discovery for me was the Angelica G, the winery’s take on angelica, sacramental wine created by Franciscan friars in California. This fortified wine comes in at a hefty 19% ABV. It has a great balance of spice and sweetness, with some hints of cinnamon and cardamom to it. I’m looking forward to sharing this with friends over a delicious fruit-based dessert.

Our last winery of the day was Maison de Padgett.  I wish I could tell you more about their wine. I walked into the beautiful tasting room, but found out that while the Passport would get me discounts on any wine I bought, it didn’t include the tasting fee, and while I had remembered my credit card, I had no cash on me. I’m sure I could have found someone to loan me the cash, but I was a bit wine and ride fatigued, so I gave it a pass. Others who did the tasting said they had a wide range of unique wines, so some day I will definitely go back and give them a try. The Passport has no expiration date, after all, and features 15 of the Rattlesnake Hills wineries.

The it was back to Severino to untack the horses and pick up up all our bottles. We were all pretty exhausted, but found the energy to enjoy some cheese, salami, and crackers as a snack before we headed to the Franklin County Saddle Club for our potluck dinner.

If you are ever in Zillah, Washington, and like great wine, I highly recommend giving the wineries of the Rattlesnake AVA a taste. If you can make your tour on horseback, all the better!

[1] I am one of those cursed with red wine as a migraine trigger.

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In looking for some ideas, I came across one of the drinks I invented for Thursday Drink Night, Gin Edition.

Étourneau Cocktail

Étourneau

1.5 oz London dry gin (No. 209)
0.75 oz Yellow Chartreuse
0.5 oz Calvados
sparkling wine to top (Cristalino Brut)

Stir all but champagne over ice. Strain into a cocktail flute. Top with sparkling wine. Make a resolution to have more fun in the New Year.

I like how the calvados tones down the sweetness of the yellow chartruese while not masking the wonderful herbal blend. Adding a dry sparlking wine such as a cava brut lengthens the drink in a pleasant way that makes it easy to drink despite the high level of flavoring.

The new year is looking like it will be a fun one here at Two at the Most. Several new liquors have arrived, waiting to be tasted. I am also planning on reviewing several cocktail books in the coming year. I look forward to you joining me in the coming year!

[1] Always in moderation; I don’t like starting the year with a hangover!

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