Credit Ted Haigh
, Dr. Cocktail, for bringing back the Blinker Cocktail from obscurity. He published it in his book Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails: From the Alamagoozlum to the Zombie 100 Rediscovered Recipes and the Stories Behind Them.
He got it from a 1934 cocktail book.
Dr. Cocktail’s Blinker
Dr. Cocktail’s version is great. It’s served up and uses raspberry syrup. In a shaker, combine
- 2 oz rye whiskey
- 1 oz grapefruit juice
- 1 tablespoon raspberry syrup
and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. This is a good, refreshing cocktail. The sweetness of the raspberry syrup is just right. Nothing more needed for this one.
The Original Blinker Cocktail
The original recipe is similar to what I found in my search of the Cocktail Database while looking for some cocktail recipe containing grapefruit to use up the grapefruit juice I have been trying to get rid of. That version called for
- 1 1/2 oz rye whiskey
- 1 oz grapefruit juice
- 6 dashes grenadine
shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Grenadine just doesn’t work that well for me. I need to try making my own, but I still buy the fluorescent red stuff, and I can’t stand it. I wouldn’t bother with this one.
Bulleit Rye Blinker
So I went searching elsewhere, but then I remembered that Camper English had just posted about a Blinker variation in this Fine Cooking article. You’re supposed to use Bulleit Rye for this one, but I generally buy Old Overholt, so I just went ahead and used it. This one is put over ice in a Collins glass. In a shaker, combine with ice
- 1 fl. oz Bulleit Rye
- .25 fl. oz Raspberry Liqueur
- .75 fl. oz Fresh Lemon Juice
- 1.5 fl. oz Fresh Grapefruit Juice
- .5 fl. oz Simple Syrup
and then strain into a Collins glass with fresh ice.
This one is really just a great cooler. With these 100 degree days of summer, it works great. Beautiful and refreshing with the brightness of lots of citrus. Not much liquor in it, but I like how it uses raspberry liqueur instead of raspberry syrup like Dr. Cocktail’s version.
Quite a few versions of a great drink, yes, and eventually we should get around to trying the original one, I guess. But for now, I will stick with Dr. Cocktail’s and the new Bulleit Rye Cooler. They’re just so good.