With only 6 ingredients including garnishes and 5 minutes you can have this tasty and classic Old Fashioned Cocktail! A delicious drink to wind down on the weekends.
Who doesn’t love a classic cocktail recipe? I know that we do! Especially when they are super simple like this Old Fashioned Cocktail, and super tasty.
Now I know that bourbon isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but it is a great flavor, especially mixed with the remaining simple ingredients that this recipe calls for.
We usually whip these up on the weekends when we want to just sit and relax and watch a movie, or have friends over and just enjoy a nice and easy cocktail.
Sometimes we don’t like making all the fancy drinks that require blenders, shakers, and all that. We like something super simple and easy to make.
That is exactly what this Old Fashioned Cocktail is, and it quickly has been one of our most made drinks in our household. It is a great sipping drink that we have loved for a long time.
If you are a drinker and love classic recipes then you absolutely have to make this Old Fashioned Cocktail Recipe if you never have!
Some of our other favorite drink recipes that we have on our site include: Pineapple Mojitos, Paloma Cocktail and Irish Coffee.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
- With super minimal ingredients this is easy to put together.
- With only 5 minutes this is a quick cocktail.
- You can make as many as you’d like!
INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST):
Sugar cube
Angostura bitters
Water
Bourbon
Orange peel, for garnish
Maraschino cherry, for garnish
HOW TO MAKE AN OLD FASHIONED COCKTAIL, STEP BY STEP:
- Into the bottom an old-fashioned or small glass, add a sugar cube, the bitters, and water.
- Muddle everything together until the sugar is mostly dissolved.
- Next, add the ice.
- Pour in the bourbon and stir to combine.
- Slowly squeeze the orange peel making sure to express the orange oils and then drop the peel into the glass along with a maraschino cherry if desired, serve and enjoy.
WHAT KIND OF GLASS IS AN OLD FASHIONED SERVED IN?
They are considered lowball glasses. Which means that it is a short tumbler glass with a solid bottom. The solid bottom is said to help with the muddling of the sugar cube.
This is the typical glass for an Old Fashioned, of course if you do not have that type of glass you will just want something sturdy enough where you can muddle in it!
IS CERTAIN ICE SIZE BETTER THAN ANOTHER?
Yes, actually it is. We like to use larger cubes of ice for this Old Fashioned as they do not melt as fast and water down your drink.
You can use other ice if need be, but for a cocktail like this classic one, we always stick to the larger cubes.
WHAT IF I DON’T HAVE A SUGAR CUBE?
This is the traditional requirement for an Old Fashioned Cocktail but we have found some workarounds! We realize not everyone can find or has access to sugar cubes.
You can use 1 teaspoon granulated sugar and muddle it with the bitters and water. You can also use 1 teaspoon of simple syrup in place of both the sugar cube/granulated sugar and water.
WHAT IS THE BEST BOURBON TO USE FOR THIS COCKTAIL?
This is really up to personal choice and flavor preference, we use good old Jim Beam for our Old Fashioned Cocktail, but some others that are great include:
- Makers Mark
- Buffalo Trace
- Bulliet
- Knob Creek
- Elijah Craig
You can use any that you like, like I said it is personal flavor preference and also your budget.
HOW TO STORE:
This is a recipe that you do not want to store. Old Fashioned Cocktails are supposed to be made when you are going to drink it. So do not make ahead of time.
TIPS AND TRICKS:
- You want to use a full piece of orange zest, removing as much of the pith as possible using a paring knife. This will make it easier to express the oils and not leave a bitter taste from the pith.
- You can also add an orange wheel or wedge directly to the glass if desired.
- Use your favorite bourbon for this, we listed some above. We use Jim Beam.
- Double or triple this recipe to serve as many as you’d like.
- This is traditionally served in a lowball glass.
- You can substitute the sugar cube, see my tips above.
- Larger ice cubes are better for the cocktail itself.
- Make sure you do not make this ahead of time and only when you are ready to drink it.
- This is a great after dinner cocktail or just a nightcap.
Looking for that classic cocktail or one that you have never had before? Then this Old Fashioned Cocktail is exactly what you need, easy and tasty.
If you like this recipe you might also like:
If you’ve tried this OLD FASHIONED COCKTAIL or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and what shenanigans I’m getting into!
Old Fashioned Cocktail
Ingredients
- 1 sugar cube
- 3 dashes Angostura bitters
- 1 teaspoon water
- 2 ounces bourbon
- Orange peel for garnish
- Maraschino cherry for garnish
Instructions
- Into the bottom an old-fashioned or small glass, add a sugar cube, the bitters, and water.
- Muddle everything together until the sugar is mostly dissolved.
- Next, add the ice.
- Pour in the bourbon and stir to combine.
- Slowly squeeze the orange peel making sure to express the orange oils and then drop the peel into the glass along with a maraschino cherry if desired, serve and enjoy.
Notes
- You want to use a full piece of orange zest, removing as much of the pith as possible using a paring knife. This will make it easier to express the oils and not leave a bitter taste from the pith.
- You can also add an orange wheel or wedge directly to the glass if desired.
- Use your favorite bourbon for this, we listed some above. We use Jim Beam.
- Double or triple this recipe to serve as many as you’d like.
- This is traditionally served in a lowball glass.
- You can substitute the sugar cube, see my tips above.
- Larger ice cubes are better for the cocktail itself.
- Make sure you do not make this ahead of time and only when you are ready to drink it.
- This is a great after dinner cocktail or just a nightcap.
Nutrition
Tornadough Alli is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value is important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and values can vary depending on which brands were used.
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED MARCH, 2022
Bill Eckhart
Hi Ally!
I make Old Fashions quite often. I have tweaked the basic recipe to where I actually like it better. In place of the sugar cube and water, I use a teaspoon of real Maple Syrup. then I add a teaspoon of the juice of the maraschino cherries. Those are my sweeteners. Then I use a single large ice cube so the drink does not get watered down as it will with multiple ice cubes.
Just another version! Uncle Bill