This is one B and I have been making since we found it in our copy of the original edition of Ted Haigh’s Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails. On a Christmas aside, we just got a copy of the new edition from B’s parents. It has several new interesting cocktails (stay tuned), an updated list of suppliers and a nice spiral binding that lies flat on the counter. Definitely a nice addition to you cocktail library, especially if happen to have a set of generous parents on hand.
Anyway, back the cocktail. According to Ted Haig, who gives original credit for the cocktail to The Official Mixer’s Manual by Patrick Gavin Duffy (ca. 1934), the original version called for grenadine. Apparently raspberry syrup was an innovation by the good Dr. Cocktail., which he claims was a common substitution of and after which he “never looked back”. Being a scientist, I tried it both ways, including some very nice pomegranate grenadines, and I concur that the raspberry syrup is an improvement. It’s interesting that Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails is the only book in my library that has this recipe in it.
The Blinker
- 2 oz. Rye Whiskey
- 1 oz Grapefruit Juice
- 1 tsp. Raspberry Syrup
Give it all a nice shake in a cocktail shaker full of ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a twist of lemon.
I keep tinkering with the Blinker. Originally, I used carton grapefruit juice and Torani raspberry syrup. This time is used fresh squeezed grapefruit juice, and it was a definite improvement. I think next time I will try it with a more interesting raspberry syrup (either making it or using one based on whole raspberries). I’lll keep you posted as to the results.
B & I wish you a happy new year. Cheers.

This cocktail has a lot of things I like. It’s old. It has Rye, absinthe and screwball ingredients (Peychaud’s bitters). Oh, and it’s a good cocktail. According to David Wondrich in Esquire Drinks, the cocktail takes it’s name from the from the Sazerac de forge et Fils congnac with which it was originally made before the Civil War. On this note, Ti Adelaide Martin and Lally Brennan, in their book In the Land of Cocktails: Recipes and Adventures from the Cocktail Chicks, claim that the switch to rye came when phylloxera wiped out the grapes in France, making cognac hard to get in this country. They also make the bold, though perhaps slightly un-Southern, assertion the would rather use cognac than bourbon if rye isn’t available. I agree.
I’ve been thinking about his one for a while. It started out as something to do with a recently acquired bottle of creme de violette, which in turn was the result of my endless quest for arcane booze. In many ways this cocktail is the embodiment of this quest, having not only creme de violette but also Maraschino liqueur. The recipe I used is from David Wondrich’s 





Recent Comments