Blinker

I like to make this following PDT's variation of 1/4 oz simple syrup with a barspoon of raspberry preserve instead of raspberry syrup.

I do like the PDT version, but if no preserves I use the original recipe and up the raspberry syrup to 1/2 oz. I enjoy this more than the Brown Derby which I felt was lacking something....

I suspect that grapefruit juice in 1930 was quite a bit more tart than today. The sugar probably needs to be adjusted down, and certainly would be if using sweet grapefruits like ruby or pink. Tart white grapefruit would be more authentic, I think.

I liked this a lot. I only had a raspberry liqueur (Flag Hill Winery, Lee, NH) instead of raspberry syrup, but that shouldn't have upset things much since it was a secondary ingredient. It helps that Rittenhouse 100 is fantastic and that I'm a sucker for fresh grapefruit juice. I only got the raspberry in the back end when I was rehashing the drink on my tongue so I'm curious what this would be like with grenadine. Our concern with using grenadine was that we weren't sure if the original creators of the drink used REAL grenadine (reduced pomegranate juice with some added sugar which is the only grenadine we allow in our house) opposed to the artificial stuff out there, like Rose's. I'd like to try it again with our homemade grenadine, but I still give a thumbs up to the version I had.

I just re-read that and feel like I come across as a snob. I'm not! Just hate that people could be drinking so much better with such little effort.

Tried with 12 Bottle Bar proportions of 1 1/2 oz rye whiskey, 1 oz ruby grapefruit juice and 1/2 zo Grenadine.

This recipe appears to be the more modern, reworked sour version (which I've honestly never cared for all that much), and like many of the recipes from Paul Clarke's Cocktail Chronicles site and book, is too freakin' dry to me and just about everyone else I know.  The original recipe is more of highball using 2 oz straight rye, 3 oz grapefruit juice and 1 oz grenadine (which I enjoy quite a bit more).  Source: Official Mixer's Manual, Patrick Gavin Duffy, Frankfort Distilleries Press, 1934, p 106.  Also: https://punchdrink.com/recipes/blinker/

Just to elaborate on the PDT version. The PDT Cocktail Book (2011) includes a recipe by this name that is: 2oz Wild Turkey Rye, 1oz Grapefruit, .25oz Simple Syrup, and 1 bar spoon raspberry preserves. Shake and Strain.  

The book credits Patrick Duffy, but also lists as a reference Ted Haigh's Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails. Haigh's recipe in that book is the same as that originally listed above.

Hi all, So a question. I could revert this to the Punch specs (2 rye, 3 grapefruit, 1 grenadine), but that's a huge drink by modern standards - what, 7.5 oz post shake? And besides, it's not like people are going to be able to find white grapefruit juice. While Duffy might have had access to pink grapefruit by 1934, you wouldn't need that much grenadine if the juice you were using was already pink. Thanks,  Zachary

The Imbibe/3 Ingredient Cocktails version may use Duffy's ratios, but his book was written in parts or jiggers, depending on edition (1 rye, 1.5 grapefruit, 0.5 grenadine). The book calls for putting this in a (stemmed, likely ~6-oz) Bass Ale glass.

I'm wondering if this was a 1.5 oz jigger, so: 1.5 oz rye, 2.25 oz grapefruit, 0.75 oz grenadine; final diluted volume is ~6.5 oz, which is a bit much for the glass it is going in, but not terrible by the standards of some of these "by parts" recipes.

Thanks for introducing me to that site even though the digitization isn't as nice as EUVS. I'm going to revert the drink to your specs above. Thanks,  Zachary