True Blood: Blood and Sand

Blood and Sand by Lorena Krasiki

I picked this recipe because, for some reason, I have all of the ingredients already which NEVER happens with alcoholic drinks…yes, I even have the cherry brandy!  Why?  I have no idea.  I can only assume someone brought it to our Halloween party and left it behind.

The little intro before the recipe begins is about Lorena’s time with Bill Compton during the Prohibition era.  She claims she can’t even smell cherry brandy without thinking of those “high times” of carnage.

The steps for this drink are super simple: combine everything in a tumbler with ice, shake, and strain into a cocktail glass.

The only additional step is to make an orange twist from the peel, which is as simple as slicing off a piece and twisting it until it keeps its shape.

Taste: 8/10

This was really good, but a bit too sweet for me.  Which means it’s SUPER sweet, because I can handle a lot of sugar.  The best part (at least in my opinion) is that it doesn’t taste at all like there are three shots in the drink!

Difficulty: Easy

The hardest part is squeezing out the fresh orange juice, but even that won’t be so bad if you have a citrus juicer.

Cost: Pricey

If you have the alcohol needed for this recipe already in your house, this will be cheap.  But chances are you’ll need to buy at least one bottle.  Ingredients include scotch whiskey, cherry brandy, sweet vermouth, and an orange.