Spirits for the Blackhorn Cocktail

We’re making two classic cocktails that share the same name: the Blackthorn. There are quite a few drinks going by that title, but I’ve narrowed it down to two very different recipes that trace back to the early 1900s. One version is an Irish whiskey cocktail built with vermouth and absinthe. The other is a sloe gin cocktail featuring sweet and dry vermouth with bitters. Both claim to be the true Blackthorn, and both show up in early cocktail history. We’ll dig into where these recipes came from, compare the ingredients, and mix them side by side to see which one really earns the name. If you’re into cocktail history, forgotten drinks from the golden age of bartending, or just want two excellent vermouth-forward classics to add to your rotation, this one’s for you. Cheers!