Here we walk through the three keys of craft mixology with this cocktail:
1. Quality Ingredients
This Old Fashioned recipe uses spiced maraschino cherries as a key ingredient. I use the recipe from the Cupcake Project Blog here. These are well worth the time to make.
Do not use standard “maraschino” cherries! If you must buy, get a real maraschino cherry like the Oregon Bordeaux cherries.
2. Precise Measuring
Put your bitters in a dropper bottle. It’s far to easy to overwhelm a cocktail by dashing just a bit too much bitters in it. Measure your alcohol, too! If you don’t have one, the OXO SteeL Double Jigger
3. Perfect Technique
Shake, then shake some more. It’s an arm work out to get the sugar to dissolve this way but it’s worth it because the sugar abrades the orange and cherry and extracts maximum flavor into the drink.
Double-strain! There’s an enormous difference between a finely-strained cocktail and one with pulp. If you leave fruit pulp (or – shudder – pieces of fruit) in a cocktail like this, it will cause separation over a few minutes. You’ll wind up with fruit bits on one layer, alcohol on another and a skin of water on the top.
Fruit juice and oils are in the drink, whole fruit is in the garnish. Keep it that way.
Ultimate Old Fashioned with Spiced Maraschino Cherries
- YIELD: 1 drink (1 Servings)
- PREP: 5 mins
The best Old Fashioned you’ll ever have.
INGREDIENTS
- hard ice
- 2 half-moons orange
- 2 spiced maraschino cherries
- 2 oz bourbon prefer a premium or super-premium like Woodford Reserve or Four Roses Small Batch
- 8 drops Angostura bitters (app. 2 small dashes)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Add to shaker: * 1 half-moon orange * 1 spiced maraschino cherry * sugar * bitters * bourbon
- Fill shaker with ice and shake vigorously for about 30 seconds or until sugar is disolved.
- Double-strain (hawthorne & fine mesh) into double-old fashioned glass.
- Fill glass with ice and top with a flag made using the other orange half-moon and spiced maraschino cherry.
- Stick in a straw and enjoy!