How to make a perfect Old Fashioned

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An Old Fashioned is our favorite classic cocktail, and this recipe tells you exactly how to make a perfect Old Fashioned and what bourbon, sugar, cherries, orange, bitters, and ice make the ideal version.

An overhead shot of an old fashioned with an orange peel and cheery in the glass. The glass is on a wood cutting board with a orange and cherries off to the side.

This cocktail's success comes down to the bourbon and ingredients you chose and how well they work together. We have tested almost every option under the sun, talked to our favorite Kentucky bartenders, and have fallen in love with this recipe!

Bourbon is our spirit of choice, and indulging in a bourbon cocktail is our favorite way to relax during the winter months. We also love a spin on an old-fashioned just like this: Bourbon Peach Old Fashioned, Bourbon Apple Cider Old Fashioned, or this Spiced Cranberry Old Fashioned!

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🥃 What is an old fashioned?
⭐ Why you will love this recipe:
🥘 Key ingredients
🔪 How to make this recipe:
Here's a video showing how to make this recipe:
📖 Additional good sweet and balanced bourbon options:
🧂 Simple syrup flavor options:
FAQ
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
How to make a perfect Old Fashioned

🥃 What is an old fashioned?

This drink is traditionally made by muddling sugar with water and bitters, then mixing that with bourbon whiskey and garnishing with an orange slice and a cherry.

In this version, we are making a simple syrup because it blends with the bourbon so well. Then we combine that with Bourbon, orange peel, bourbon cherries, and bitters.

⭐ Why you will love this recipe:

We tested a wide range of bourbons to find the perfect bourbon for the best cocktail.
This light brown simple syrup mixes much better with the cocktail than muddling sugar and bitters.
A small amount of cherry syrup makes this version perfectly flavored!

🥘 Key ingredients

The ingredients for the old fashioned on a wood cutting board sitting on a marble table.

Light brown sugar: Through testing, we've found that light brown sugar syrup creates the best flavor and mixes and balances best with the bourbon. Light brown sugar adds depth that matches the flavors in the bourbon, while white sugar doesn't lift the cocktail as much, and the dark brown sugar syrup can sink to the bottom of the drink.
Bourbon: Bourbon is the key ingredient in this cocktail, so using the best one that goes well with the orange and cherry flavors is key. A sweet but well-balanced bourbon is by far the best.

🥃 What is the best Bourbon for this cocktail?

Old Forester 1910 is smooth and well-rounded and has notes of sweet oatmeal raisin cookie, milk chocolate, and caramel corn with a bit of spice. This smoothness and sweetness make it our favorite!

Bourbon Cherries with syrup: We like this cocktail slightly "dirty" and add a cherry and a ½ teaspoon of cherry syrup. Using bourbon-soaked cherries like these, Bourbon Bada Bing Cherries blend best with the bourbon. We found that maraschino cherries were too sharp and dominated the drink.
Bitters: bitters are flavor extracts made with alcohol and a variety of flavors and spices. They tend to be bitter or bittersweet and are made to balance out sweet or sour cocktails. In this recipe, we use Angostura aromatic bitters, which is a delicious blend of fruit and spices.
Orange peel: Right before serving, twist an orange peel over the drink to expel the oil, then rim it around the glass. This adds the slightest orange flavor and aroma to the drink.

See recipe card for quantities.

🔪 How to make this recipe:

Water and the light brown sugar in a sauce pan.

Step 1: Make the simple syrup by combining the light brown sugar and 1 cup water in a small pot and cooking until the sugar has melted.

The bourbon, syrup, bitters, and ice in a mixing glass.

Step 2: Add ice to a mixing glass and top with bourbon, bitters, cherry syrup, and simple syrup. Stir to combine

The cocktail being strained into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube.

Step 3: Strain into an old-fashioned glass with a large ice cube. Top with a cherry.

A hand squeezing a orange peel over the poured cocktail.

Step 4: Twist the peel of an orange over the glass to express its oil, brush it around the rim of the glass, then add it to the cocktail.

Here's a video showing how to make this recipe:

📖 Additional good sweet and balanced bourbon options:

Although Old Forester 1910 is our favorite, these options are our runners-up for the best bourbon for this cocktail. All are sweet and well-balanced and would make a delicious drink.

Angels Envy
Woodford Reserve Double Oaked
Willet Pot Still Reserve

🧂 Simple syrup flavor options:

There are so many flavors that you could add to this syrup to give this cocktail even more flavor; here are some of our favorites:

1-2 teaspoons vanilla, a more pronounced vanilla flavor.
3-4 cinnamon sticks for a cinnamon cocktail, perfect for all.
1 cup pecans: this syrup gives the cocktail a subtle pecan flavor.

FAQ

What's the best ice for an old fashioned?

You can really use any ice you like, but a large ice cube will melt slower and will dilute the drink less. Most times, we opt for the large cube but sometimes want the watered-down version made with smaller cubes.

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