Old Fashioned

Both are classic. Bourbon gives a rounder, sweeter drink with vanilla and caramel; rye is drier and spicier and closer to the 1800s original. Start with bourbon if you’re new to whiskey cocktails, rye once you want more edge.

Simple syrup (about 8 ml) is faster and mixes instantly — a sugar cube muddled with bitters is traditional but often leaves grit at the bottom. Either way, the target is barely-sweetened whiskey, not dessert.

The mid-century habit of muddling oranges and cherries into a pulp has fallen away — the modern classic expresses an orange peel’s oils over the surface instead. (Wisconsin’s beloved brandy Old Fashioned, muddled fruit and all, is its own proud tradition.)

One large, clear cube or sphere. Big ice melts slowly, so the drink chills without racing to watery. If you only have small cubes, use plenty and drink it a touch faster.

A classic Old Fashioned calls for 60 ml (2 oz) Bourbon, 8 ml (0.25 oz) Simple syrup, 3 dashes Angostura bitters Angostura bitters. That single-serve spec scales cleanly — the recipe above converts it to oz and multiplies it for 2–4 drinks.

A standard Old Fashioned is roughly 40% ABV once mixed (before ice melt softens it further). That makes it spirit-forward — closer to a Martini than to a beer, so sip it slowly.

An Old Fashioned is stirred, not shaken. It contains no citrus juice, so stirring keeps it crystal clear and silky instead of cloudy and aerated.