7 of Diamonds

This is the only one of the playing card series of Seagram's Seven cocktails that is served up. I half wonder if it was created by mistake: shouldn't it be made with orange juice and some kind of red liqueur like Campari?

Like as not, this was the most popular of the many different attempts to come up with two distinct tasting whiskey cocktails with a red color. Given that the agreed-upon recipe probably came about during the "dark ages" of cocktails, the 1970s-1990s, I can understand why the only other ingredient available on most bars that will suffice was creme de cassis.

Too bad that creme de cassis is made with black current--or at least it is colored and flavored like black current--and it isn't very red. The color is a little deep, like a cloudy ruby, and the flavor is unbalanced and too sweet, like the rest of the playing cards series. But you can respect that given that they are all long drinks. This cocktail is neither promoting casual cocktail mixing nor is it classy enough to warrant a cocktail glass. But you  can't police taste, and the fact that this drink is still with us means that enough of them were consumed once upon a time to make their mark on history.

• 1 1/2 oz. Seagram's Seven Crown whiskey
• 1 oz. creme de cassis
• dash of lemon juice (make it a heavy half ounce)

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.