Ingredients
- 60 ml Bourbon (Buffalo Trace, Wild Turkey 101, or your house pour)
- 1 sugar cube (or 5ml simple syrup)
- 2 dashes Angostura bitters
- 1 large ice cube (or one big rock)
- 1 orange peel, expressed and dropped in
- 1 luxardo cherry, optional
Instructions
- Add the sugar cube to a rocks glass and saturate with the Angostura bitters.
- Muddle the sugar with a couple of drops of water until partially dissolved (or use simple syrup and skip the muddling).
- Add the bourbon and stir for 15 seconds to combine and slightly chill.
- Drop in one large ice cube. Stir for another 20 seconds to chill and dilute properly.
- Express an orange peel over the surface (squeeze to release the oils, then run it around the rim and drop it in).
- Optional: drop a luxardo cherry on the bottom. Serve immediately.
Notes
Where it came from
The Old Fashioned is the original cocktail. The word “cocktail” was first defined in print in 1806 as a drink of spirit, sugar, water, and bitters. That’s the Old Fashioned. Every cocktail since is essentially a riff on that template.
The “Old Fashioned” name came in the 1880s when bartenders started adding fruit, soda water, and other modern frippery to drinks. Customers who wanted the original spec started asking for their whiskey “the old-fashioned way.” The name stuck.
What it tastes like
Strong, smooth, slightly sweet, slightly bitter, citrus oil on top. Bourbon does the heavy lifting. The sugar takes the edge off without making it sweet. Bitters add complexity. The orange peel oil hits your nose first and tells you what you’re about to drink.
Get one in a good cocktail bar and you’ll see why this drink has lasted 200 years. It’s built to be sipped slowly, neat enough to taste the whiskey, civilised enough to drink before dinner.
The bourbon vs rye debate
Both work. Bourbon is the modern default — sweeter, rounder, more approachable. Rye is the historical original — drier, spicier, more interesting once you’re used to it.
For a first-time drinker: bourbon. For a seasoned drinker: rye. For a steakhouse: bourbon. For a speakeasy: rye. Buffalo Trace bourbon or Rittenhouse rye are both excellent house pours.
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Ingredient Spotlight
The bottles that make or break this drink.
The bourbon
- Use
- Buffalo Trace, Wild Turkey 101, Maker’s Mark, Woodford Reserve
- Skip
- Anything under 80 proof or labelled “blended”
- Why
- You taste the whiskey directly. Buy something you’d drink neat.
The bitters
- Use
- Angostura aromatic bitters
- Try
- Add a dash of orange bitters for more citrus lift
- Why
- Bitters tie the sugar and the whiskey together. Without them it’s just sweet whiskey.
The ice
- Use
- One large cube or sphere
- Skip
- Crushed ice, small cubes, no ice
- Why
- Big ice melts slowly. Small ice waters the drink to nothing in 5 minutes.
Variations
Bourbon-led classics to try after this.
What if I don’t have…
Quick substitutions for when the bottle shop is closed.
Use rye whiskey, or try a darker rum for a Rum Old Fashioned. Avoid Scotch — it’s too smoky for the spec.
Use Peychaud’s if you have it, or 2 drops of orange bitters plus a tiny pinch of cinnamon. Without bitters this drink is just sweet whiskey.
5ml (1 tsp) of simple syrup, or a heaping bar spoon of demerara sugar dissolved in the bitters.
A lemon peel works in a pinch but the drink is meaningfully different. The orange oil is half the drink.
Use 3-4 small cubes and drink it faster. The drink will dilute quickly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Direct answers to what people search for after Googling this drink.
What is an Old Fashioned?
An Old Fashioned is a 200-year-old cocktail made with bourbon (or rye), sugar, Angostura bitters, an orange peel, and a single large ice cube. It’s the original definition of the word “cocktail” — spirit, sugar, water, bitters.
Bourbon or rye for an Old Fashioned?
Both work, with different results. Bourbon makes a sweeter, rounder drink. Rye makes a drier, spicier drink that’s closer to the historical original. Most modern bars default to bourbon. If you want to try one, Buffalo Trace bourbon or Rittenhouse rye are both excellent.
Do you muddle an Old Fashioned?
You muddle the sugar cube with the bitters and a few drops of water until it dissolves. You do not muddle fruit — that’s a mid-century bastardisation. No orange slices, no cherries getting smashed. Just the sugar.
What’s the right glass?
A rocks glass (also called an Old Fashioned glass — yes, the glass is named after the drink). Heavy bottom, straight sides, room for one big ice cube and 60ml of whiskey.
Why one big ice cube?
Surface area. Smaller ice has more surface area relative to volume, so it melts faster. A big cube or sphere melts slowly enough that your drink stays at the right strength from first sip to last (about 15-20 minutes).
How strong is an Old Fashioned?
About 30% ABV in the glass after dilution — roughly twice the strength of wine. It’s a sipping drink, not a smashing drink. One Old Fashioned should last you 15-20 minutes.
What does “old fashioned” mean in cocktail terms?
It means the drink predates the era when bartenders started adding citrus juice, soda, fruit, and other ingredients to spirits. “Make it old-fashioned” was 1880s shorthand for “just spirit, sugar, water, and bitters — the way it used to be.”
Can I use simple syrup instead of a sugar cube?
Yes. 5ml (1 tsp) of simple syrup replaces one sugar cube and dissolves instantly. Some bartenders argue muddling the cube extracts a better texture; most home drinkers won’t notice.
What’s the difference between an Old Fashioned and a Manhattan?
An Old Fashioned is whiskey + sugar + bitters. A Manhattan is whiskey + sweet vermouth + bitters. The vermouth is the difference — it makes the Manhattan herbal and wine-like. The Old Fashioned tastes more directly of the whiskey.
Is an Old Fashioned strong?
Yes. A standard Old Fashioned has 60ml (2 oz) of 80-proof bourbon, which is roughly the same alcohol as a glass and a half of wine in 100ml of liquid. Sip it slowly.
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