Ultimate Old Fashioned with Spiced Maraschino Cherries

 

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 is the best I’ve ever used.

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.

[recipe]

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

  1. Add to shaker: * 1 half-moon orange * 1 spiced maraschino cherry * sugar * bitters * bourbon
  2. Fill shaker with ice and shake vigorously for about 30 seconds or until sugar is disolved.
  3. Double-strain (hawthorne & fine mesh) into double-old fashioned glass.
  4. Fill glass with ice and top with a flag made using the other orange half-moon and spiced maraschino cherry.
  5. Stick in a straw and enjoy!

Woodford Reserve Kentucky Coffee

  • YIELD: 1 cocktail (1 Servings)
  • PREP: 5 mins

Rich, creamy, warm and bourbon-y.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 oz sorghum syrup
  • 1.5 oz Woodford Reserve Bourbon
  • coffee
  • heavy cream
  • holiday spice mix

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. In coffee mug, mix together sorghum syrup, bourbon and coffee. Leave 1/2″ room at top of mug for cream.
  2. Layer the cream on top of the coffee. You can do this by pouring it slowly over the back of a spoon just barely dipped in the coffee.
  3. Sprinkle generously with the holiday spice mix.
  4. * The holiday spice mix is just pre-ground cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves mixed together. I keep mine in a mason jar.

Woodford Reserve Applejack Ginger Hot Toddy

  • YIELD: 1 cocktail (1 Servings)
  • PREP: 5 mins

Bright and sweet with apple, ginger, caramel and vanilla.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1/2 oz ginger syrup
  • 1/2 oz applejack
  • juice of 2 half-moon lemon slices
  • 1 oz Woodford Reserve Bourbon
  • 1 bag strong black tea

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. In coffee mug, combine all ingredients. Fill with hot water. Stir gently.

Woodford Reserve Blackberry Manhattan

Just whipped this up at the request of Seth Thompson of the Bourbon Review to promote our upcoming Summer Cocktails Class.

 

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 dashes orange bitters
  • 2 oz Woodford Reserve Bourbon
  • ½ oz sweet vermouth
  • ½ oz cold-prep blackberry syrup

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Stir over ice, strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a maraschino-soaked blackberry.
Woodford Reserve Blackberry Manhattan.
This recipe uses orange bitters.