Whiskey Cocktails: Rye Whiskey
Blinker
Ingredients
2 oz. High West Double Rye Whiskey
1 oz. Fresh grapefruit juice
0.5 oz. Raspberry syrup
Garnish
Grapefruit wheel
Preparation
Combine all ingredients in a shaker and add ice. Shake hard. Strain into a double rocks glass. Garnish with grapefruit wheels.
Cocktail Story
The Blinker was likely created by Patrick Gavin Duffy, bartender at the Ashland House in New York City. Duffy published the recipe in his 1934 publication The Official Mixer’s Manual. Though the Ashland House was pouring drinks throughout the early 1900s, the pragmatic simplicity of the Blinker hints at it being a Prohibition creation. Grenadine and raspberry syrup were considered interchangeable alternatives for one another in many drink recipes recorded in the early turn of the century. While Duffy’s version calls for grenadine, cocktail historian Ted Haigh insists on the superior effect that raspberry syrup has on the drink.