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Old Fashioned

Spirit-forward · Whiskey · IBA official

Old Fashioned

Bourbon, demerara and bitters – stirred slow, served over one big cube

The original whiskey cocktail: spirit, sugar, bitters and a little water. Bourbon's vanilla and caramel are rounded out by rich demerara and lifted by aromatic bitters and orange oils. A slow sipper for the end of the evening.

Make this in 3D
Glass
Rocks glass
Ice
One large cube
Technique
Stirred · Strained
Difficulty
Intermediate
Time
3 min
Strength
≈ 33% ABV

Ingredients

Rocks glass
  • 60 mlBourbon whiskey2 oz
  • 7.5 mlRich demerara syrup (2:1)¼ oz
  • 2 dashesAromatic bitters
  • GarnishOrange peel

≈ 83 ml served · 2.2 standard drinks

Substitutes: Rye whiskey can stand in for Bourbon whiskey. Simple syrup (1:1) can stand in for Rich demerara syrup (2:1).

Method

  1. 1

    Add the bourbon, demerara syrup and bitters to a mixing glass.

  2. 2

    Fill with ice and stir for 25–30 seconds, until well chilled and slightly diluted.

  3. 3

    Place a large ice cube in a rocks glass and strain the drink over it.

  4. 4

    Express an orange peel over the surface, run it around the rim and drop it in.

Learn it step by step

History

In the early 1800s a “cocktail” simply meant spirit, sugar, water and bitters. As bartenders later added liqueurs and other flourishes, drinkers who wanted the plain version began asking for a whiskey cocktail made the “old-fashioned” way, and by the 1880s the phrase had become the drink's name.

Origin
United States
First recorded
1880

Bartender's notes

  • Rye whiskey makes a drier, spicier Old Fashioned – use it at the same measure.
  • The original method muddles a sugar cube with the bitters and a splash of water before the whiskey goes in; syrup simply dissolves more evenly.
  • With plain simple syrup (1:1), use about 10 ml instead of the rich demerara.
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