This time of year tends to call for soul warming cocktails. That to me says what else but booze?! I love a cocktail that is a little bit sweet and somewhat bitter at the same time, an Old Fashioned is a perfect example of this.

There are two different ways you may have seen an old fashioned made, one has an orange and a cherry muddled in the bottom of the glass, the other is just simply clear. I happen to prefer the clear version of this particular beverage. The original documentation referred to an Old Fashioned as a potent concoction of spirit, bitters, water, and sugar, in The Balance and Columbia Repository published May 13, 1806.

Since there is no citrus in this cocktail it should be stirred. Stirring is a more gentle way of adding water to a cocktail and almost like caressing the spirit versus beating it up like when it’s in a shaker. When you have citrus in a cocktail you want to shake just simply due to the fact it helps “activate” the citrus. The recipe I will detail is a twist on what you would typically get when you would order an Old Fashioned at a bar. I really love this cocktail made with rum instead of bourbon but you drink what you like, this is just a guide.

Before we start, get your tools ready. You need:

• Bacardi Select
• Mixing glass (Yarai mixing glass or a pint glass)
• Oxo Jigger
• Stirring spoon
• Julep Strainer
• Angostura bitters
• Demerara simple syrup
• Orange bitters (I like Bittercube or Regan’s #6 Orange)

To make the Demerara simple syrup, which is a more unrefined sugar from the banks of Demerara in Guyana, (It can be a bit hard to find in stores so something like Sugar In The Raw will work too), add one part sugar to one part water, I find that for this specific syrup two parts sugar to one part water makes for a better tasting product.

After adding all ingredients to the mixing glass, stir for about15 seconds and taste as you go to taste the if the cocktail is still “hot”. By “hot” I mean, do you still taste the alcohol burn, does it taste like a rounded cocktail? You will see as you taste you will be able to taste it go from “hot” into a cocktail that is balanced and the flavors from the orange bitters and Angostura will become more prevalent.

Once you have stirred your cocktail to perfection and strained it into a coupe glass or into a glass over the rocks, you need a garnish. Grab an orange and a peeler, start at the top of the orange and pull the peeler down, you will end up with a strip of the orange peel like picture above. With the orange side of the peel towards the cocktail, express the oil over the cocktail and stick the peel into the cocktail to continue adding flavor. Add two Luxardo Maraschino Cherries to a skewer and try not to eat them before you have a sip of the cocktail. (Yes they’re that tasty so be careful!) Sante!

The Recipe

2.25 oz Bacardi Select

1 Barspoon Demerara Simple Syrup

1 Dash Angostura Bitters

2 Dashes Oranges Bitters

One Orange Swath

Two Luxardo Maraschino Cherries

Stir cocktail for at least 15 seconds to taste, strain with julep strainer into a coupe or rocks glass. Express orange oil over cocktail and drop in skewer with Luxardo Maraschino cherries.