I’m sure you’re thinking to yourself “How can I incorporate blood orange into a cocktail?” Hate to break it you, but Blood orange blows. Zero flavor, less even than OJ (the juice not the man). Flabbier than the underswinging flesh of my grandmother’s triceps as she waves goodbye. Despite this, people see it on the menu and get the fever. Ooooh blood orange! So exotic! Yeah, it’s good for you. Who gives a shit? Bartenders still don’t know what to do with it because the juice (commonly known as Blo J in some circles) actually detracts from cocktails, dilutes rather than adds anything of value. Sorry but the Blood and Sand just isn’t that good.

Blood orange, all you’re good for is color and being a catchy menu item. Hey, that’s better than what I’ve got.

The blood orange is a mutant. That’s cool as hell. Somewhere along the way it started to pick up anthocyanins. What? Antho blah blah blah? It’s a pigment. The same thing making blueberry skins blue. It only seems to happen when the fruit hits the proper levels of “cold” weather. And yes, please read the rest of this post in your best Patrick Stewart Professor X voice.

I’ve started doing this new thing where I take an old cocktail from a previous season and then try to improve upon it instead of just digging up the same tired old bones. The big presto chango ingredient here is clarified blood orange calpico. If you want to know more about how to make it you’ll have to keep reading this blog and hope it shows up one day.

This drink features the Sort Of Fermented Kumquat Syrup from yesterday’s post in case you’re feeling squirrelly.

The cool things about this cocktail: It sells really fucking well and is named after a martial arts “film” and not any old movie but the seminal coming out Van Damme flick, Bloodsport. A movie that captured the hearts of most violence prone boys growing up in the 80s and early 90s replete with some of the shittiest acting and choreography ever. But hey, we get to see a jacked Jean Claude doing the splits which more than makes up for the ultra bad timing, low budget, and horrible direction.

So let’s get down to it. I’ll put up both specs for the drink, new and old.

Before I do, however, let’s see another patented Van Damme split.

Yeah baby.

Bloodsport (2.0)

1 oz. Bonded Bourbon

1 oz. Japanese Whisky

3/4 oz. Blood Orange Calpico

1/4 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice

1/4 oz. Lemon Sherbet

1/4 oz. Fermented Kumquat Syrup

2 Dashes Hopped Grapefruit Bitters

Shake, strain into a rocks glass with a BFR. Garnish is up to you. Drink and bust out a split between two chairs in your house.

Bloodsport (old version originally posted February 15, 2019)

1 oz. Bonded Bourbon

1 oz. Japanese Whisky

1/2 oz. Blood Orange Sherbet

1/2 oz. Manzanilla Sherry

1/2 oz. Elderflower Liquor

1/4 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice

1/4 oz. Lemon Sherbet

4 Dashes Hopped Grapefruit Bitters

Shake, strain into a rocks glass with a BFR. Garnish is up to you. Enjoy while counting stacks of money and reminiscing about your heyday in the 90s.