Perhaps the most iconic cocktail — other than the ever-famous martini — is the Old Fashioned. This stripped-down drink seems incredibly simple on its surface, being barely more than a whiskey on ice, but it’s the details that count when you’re looking to make a great cocktail, and that’s certainly true with the Old Fashioned recipe.
Adding a touch of sweetness from sugar or syrup and a balancing bitterness from bitters, this cocktail lets your whiskey sing like no other. So grab yourself a bottle of some of the best whiskeys for making an Old Fashioned, and check out these tips from an expert on how to make an Old Fashioned — the right way.
We turned to Brooks Reitz, the founder of Jack Rudy Cocktail Co., who also runs Leon’s Oyster Shop and Little Jack’s Tavern, among others, for tips on the best way to make this drink. With a classic drink like this, he advised that it can be easy to overlook the subtleties. “I think the biggest miss with most Old Fashioned recipes is not using enough bitters,” Reitz said. “They are really the tie that binds the whole thing, and you really want that spice on the backend to bring everything home.”
Old Fashioned recipe
This recipe from Reitz called on his line of bar ingredients, namely citrus bitters and the deeper, whiskey-friendly flavors provided by demerara. Note that you’re adding ice twice, first with the ingredients as you stir, and again with the finished cocktail. Go with a large cube or sphere to keep the cocktail from diluting too abruptly. If you’re looking to go against the grain a bit, swap out the bourbon for a nice aged rum.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces bourbon (Reitz likes Weller)
- 1/4 ounces Jack Rudy Demerara syrup
- 6 drops Jack Rudy Aromatic Bitters
- 6 drops Jack Rudy Orange Bitters
Method
- Add ice to a mixing glass and add the ingredients
- Stir well, and then strain the mixture into an Old Fashioned glass over fresh ice.
- Garnish with a cocktail cherry and a large peel of orange.
Brandy Old Fashioned
If you keep reading below, you’ll see that we refer to versions of the Old Fashioned that call for brandy instead of whiskey, and while whiskey is still the preferred spirit for the Old Fashioned, there are some places where brandy is still the main ingredient. One of those places is in Wisconsin, where the brandy Old Fashioned is the drink of choice in most bars. The recipe for this drink is sometimes also called a “brandy sweet” is much different than the classic Old Fashioned, but if you’re looking for sweet, this might be the drink for you. The following recipe is from Liquor.com.
Ingredients
- 3 dashes Angostura bitters
- 2 orange slices
- 2 maraschino cherries
- 1 sugar cube
- 2 ounces brandy
- Lemon-lime soda or club soda
Method
- Add the bitters, orange slices, cherries, and the sugar cube to an Old Fashioned glass and muddle to combine.
- Fill the glass with ice and then add the brandy.
- Top with lemon-lime soda or club soda, and stir to chill.
- Garnish with a skewered cherry and an orange slice.
Why the Old Fashioned works
The Old Fashioned cocktail has understated beauty because of its relatively few but incredibly complementary ingredients. It’s essentially bourbon, orange, bitters, and some element of sweetness or sugar.
Many recipes call for a sugar cube, but Reitz prefers an approach that leads to a more integrated finished product. “When I was first learning to bartend ,we would always start with a sugar cube instead of syrup, but I find that the syrup allows for the sweetness to be more fully incorporated. The cube is tough to fully dissolve and usually leaves the last few sips too sweet,” he told us.
Similar recipes also call for muddling, or similar. Yet, in a quest for a more refined version of the drink, Reitz opts for a different direction. “I’m not a fan of crushing the cherry and the orange — I think it muddies the drink,” he said. “The recipe I’ve provided gives a cleaner, fresher version of the drink, and I think the overall effect is more elegant and more delicious.”
Unbeknownst to many, some early versions of the drink called for brandy instead of whiskey. And while we’re on the topic of history, let’s settle the score — the Old Fashioned glass (also dubbed a rocks glass) predates the drink. While Kentucky claims to be the birthplace of the drink in the late 19th century, it likely came about elsewhere just prior. Bartenders in Chicago and New York were mixing up formative versions of the drink early on. But as the unofficial bourbon capital of the world, it’s easy to see why Kentucky has made quite a home for the drink.
What’s the secret to a good Old Fashioned?
As well as these tips from Reitz, if you’re looking to up your Old Fashioned game, then there’s one place that you absolutely must start, and that’s with your whiskey. All the great bartending skills in the world won’t help you make a tasty drink from bottom-shelf whiskey, so now is not the time to cheap out on the booze. In most cocktails, you should aim for mid-range liquors as you don’t want anything terribly inexpensive, but you also don’t need to use your finest spirits as the delicacy of their flavors will be lost. But with the Old Fashioned, you’re really just dressing up the whiskey a little.
So use the best whiskey you’ve got for the best possible Old Fashioned. Seasoned whiskey enthusiasts may shudder at the idea of using a fine sipping Scotch in any kind of mixed drink, but the additions you’re making in this drink are so minimal that you’ll still be able to enjoy the character of your best liquors.
Another place to make sure your game is on point is the bitters, as even though you’re only adding a few drops, these have a powerful flavor that really influences the taste (and particularly the smell) of your final drink. You can try different brands and styles to find the
Finally, it might sound silly, but you also shouldn’t neglect your ice. Ice adds its own flavor to a drink, so make sure you’re not using old ice that’s been sitting next to food in your freezer for weeks. Use ice that’s just a day old, so it hasn’t had the chance to pick up any off-putting flavors. If you really want to impress your guests with your bartending skills — or if you just fancy treating yourself to something special — then you can try to create crystal clear ice balls. These look spectacular, especially in a simple drink like the Old Fashioned, and even though they don’t chill the drink any better than simple old regular ice cubes, they do add a touch of flair and luxury to the proceedings.
