4 Twists on the Old Fashioned
Mix It Up At Home!
If you only learn one thing from me, let it be this: the old fashioned is a total paradox. It is one thing, made of four things, and because of its flexibility, it can be more things than I can count. It’s one thing, only in that it is a cocktail made of spirit, sugar, bitters and water. There is a lot of breathing room in that formula. So, get creative and adapt, then tag Edible Milwaukee on social media so we can see how you do it! To get you started, here are four to try with friends:
A Vodka Old Fashioned
2 oz. vodka
¾ oz. rich simple syrup (2:1 sugar-to-water)
Half a dropperful of Bittercube Bolivar bitters
4 dashes Angostura bitters
Combine all ingredients with ice and stir slowly, about 20 times, then strain over fresh ice.
A Gin Old Fashioned
2 oz. gin
¾ oz rich simple syrup
4 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters
Combine all ingredients with ice and stir slowly, about 20 times, then strain over fresh ice and garnish with a twist of orange peel.
A Chocolate-Rum Old Fashioned
This one takes a little work, but it’s well worth it. Fill a jar threequarters of the way full with aged rum, and fill the rest of the way with cacao nibs. Wait a week and strain through a paper coffee filter.
2 oz. cacao nib-infused rum
¾ oz. rich demerara simple syrup
4 dashes Fee Brothers Aztec chocolate bitters
4 dashes Angostura bitters
Combine all ingredients with ice and stir slowly, about 20 times in each direction. Strain over fresh ice.
A Pear Brandy Old Fashioned
2 oz. pear brandy
1 oz. rich simple syrup
1 dropperful Bittercube Jamaican #2 bitters
3 dashes Angostura bitters
Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice and stir slowly, about 20 times in each direction. Strain over fresh ice.
The formula for an old fashioned is nearly as perfect a template for your imagination as can be imagined. Far from the Korbel-and Angostura monolith your parents drank, the elements of its flexible formula can be manipulated to produce one that is exactly to your liking. Whatever base spirit you prefer, whichever is your favorite bitters, however you choose to sweeten it, the limitless variations of this classic cocktail await your experimentation, and we are eager to see your results.
For these recipes, we used Twisted Path Vodka, Rehorst Gin & Pear Brandy, Great Northern Distilling Opportunity Rum.
Special thanks to Great Northern Distilling for providing product for our photo shoot.
