Nelson’s Blood
A berry and sweet cocktail ∙ Stir ∙ 3 min ∙ 24.2% ABV ∙
Nelson's Blood is a two-ingredient stirred cocktail of equal parts Cognac and ruby port, served up with a lemon twist.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Stir all ingredients with ice: Cognac 45 mlRuby port 45 ml
- Fine strain into the chilled glass
- Express a lemon twist over the cocktail and use as garnish
Tips
- Stir with ice until well chilled, fine-strain into the chilled coupe, and express the lemon twist over the top; its oil cuts through the rich port.
History
Nelson's Blood takes its name from a piece of 19th-century naval folklore. After Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson was killed at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, his body was preserved in a cask of spirit for the voyage home to England. Legend holds that sailors secretly drank from the cask along the way, giving the spirit (brandy in some tellings, rum in others) the nickname "Nelson's blood." Word-history researchers note that the related phrase "tapping the Admiral," for illicitly sipping liquor from a cask through a straw, was already in print as early as 1790, well before Trafalgar. The drinking legend was likely grafted onto Nelson's story after the fact.
The cocktail that borrowed this nickname as its name is a simple pairing of Cognac and ruby port; no source identifies who first combined the two or when.
FAQ
What is Nelson's Blood?
Equal parts Cognac and ruby port, 45 ml each, stirred and strained into a chilled coupe. A lemon twist is expressed over the top, and its oil cuts through the rich port. It comes in at about 24% ABV.
Why is it called Nelson's Blood?
The name borrows a naval legend that sailors secretly drank from the cask of spirit preserving Admiral Nelson's body after Trafalgar, which made "Nelson's blood" slang for the liquor. The cocktail borrows only the nickname. It is simply Cognac and ruby port.
