November 10, 2023

See the classic film that inspired the classic cocktail!  The Blood & Sand is scotch-based libation named after the classic 1922 Rudolph Valentino film (although prohibition in the United States didn’t end until 1933).  

The recipe first appeared in published form in 1930, in the first edition of the Savoy Cocktail Book.  Still considered the ultimate guide to great cocktail making, the Savoy Cocktail Book was originally compiled and published by Harry Craddock, a bartender who had fled the United States during prohibition. He ultimately became the head bartender of the American Bar in London’s Savoy Hotel. It is unknown whether Craddock himself invented the Blood and Sand. 

     3/4 ounce scotch (one that isn't too peated).    
     3/4 ounce sweet vermouth
     3/4 ounce Heering cherry liqueur
     3/4 ounce orange juice, freshly squeezed
     Garnish: orange peel

Add all liquid ingredients into a shaker with ice, and shake until well-chilled. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with an orange peel (as shown). 
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Tickets are available now for Rudolph Valentino in Blood and Sand (1922), with live music by Cliff Retallick, coming to the Lumiere Cinema at the Music Hall in Beverly Hills on Sunday, November 26 at 2:00 p.m.!

Image courtesy Marc Wanamaker/Bison Archives

​New to the Retroformat Vault: Fans of W.C. Fields and Louise Brooks will be fascinated by It’s the Old Army Game(1926).  Click here to sign up for the Vault today! 

W.C. Fields appeared in several silent films for Paramount between 1926 and 1928. In his classic book The Art of W.C. Fields (1967), historian William K. Everson bemoaned that not one of these films had survived.

Fortunately for us, a print of It’s the Old Army Game was since located, and it is a delight.  Flapper icon Louise Brooks is stunning in this, her fourth film. Although her part is subservient to that of Fields, her presence dominates every scene she is in. 

Become a member of the Retroformat Vault TODAY, enjoy countless classic silent films and help keep the Silent Film Era a living legacy!
16mm prints of Blood and Sand and It's the Old Army Game provided courtesy of the HMH Foundation Moving Image Archive of the USC School of Cinematic Arts.  ​
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