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Blood & Sand off ers eight riff s on the original. One of the most popular is the Bleeding Castro ($10), a combination of Flor de Caña rum, Punt e Mes sweet vermouth, fresh orange and grapefruit juices, Cherry Heering and Th e Bitter Truth Mole Bitters. Drink orders from this section of the cocktail menu are so brisk that Blood & Sand pours through one case of Cheery Heering a week, ranking the night spot as the top consumer of the liqueur in St. Louis. Frager notes that, within the fi rst few months of opening the club, he and Vytlacil had purchased every bottle of Cheery Heering they could fi nd. "We bankrupted the state of Missouri of Cherry Heering," laughs Frager. Other beverage alcohol includes a 14-
Sand is the cocktail that lends the venue its name. Th e bar is stocked with Glenmorangie 10-year-old Scotch Whisky, Punt e Mes sweet vermouth, Cherry Heering and freshly squeezed orange juice to mix this best seller ($10), with an average of 200 Blood & Sand cocktails served up each month. Besides the classic throwback cocktail,
DRINKS THAT DO THE NAMESAKE PROUD Th e fl agship drink at Blood &
impressive as the drinks. Executive chef Chris Bork uses locally sourced ingredients to create humble-turned- haute bar snacks, small plates, entrees
drink specialty cocktail menu (priced from $9 to $11) that includes the well- liked "Grounds for Divorce," a perfect marriage of Black Maple Hill Bourbon, Averna Amaro liqueur, Punt e Mes sweet vermouth, Campari and a few dashes of Th e Bitter Truth Mole Bitters ($10). Also available are four beer cocktails ($9); 10 wines ($8 to $9 by the glass, $30 to $36 by the bottle); and 16 canned and bottled beers ($5 to 9). Th e club recently launched a captain's list of cocktails that require extra preparation time and specialty ingredients like the Anti-Hero Resuscitator ($15), an aged cobbler that features Amaro Averna, Velvet Falernum, simple syrup and fresh cherries, all preserved in a Mason jar via a hot water canning method. Th e food at Blood & Sand is as
Blood and Sand cocktail (top) is bringing in the cocktail fans. The restaurant also serves nibbles such as Thai BBQ Pork Sliders and Truffl ed Tater Tots with Parmesan Cheese.
20 | JUNE 2012 www.cheersonline.com
KATY COREA
