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Cocktails

Make Your Old-Fashioned Fashionable

September 22, 2023

Story: Punch Staff

photo: Lizzie Munro

Cocktails

Make Your Old-Fashioned Fashionable

September 22, 2023

Story: Punch Staff

photo: Lizzie Munro

Here, 21 ways to dress up the enduring template.

As its name suggests, the Old-Fashioned has long been a representation of a bygone era. “The Old-Fashioned was a drinker’s plea for a saner, quieter, slower life,” writes David Wondrich in his 2007 book, Imbibe! Its name harks back to this very plea for simplicity—before the modern, adulterated cocktails of the 1890s, which had abandoned the definitive cocktail construction of spirit, bitters, sugar and water with the unsanctioned additions of Chartreuse, maraschino, vermouth and other modifiers. The Old-Fashioned’s relative simplicity, meanwhile, is what has allowed it to endure for generations.

But that doesn’t mean that modern-day versions of the drink don’t seek to put a spin on it. Today, the pared-back drink has traveled the world and tried on everything from mezcal to Corn Pops; that’s the benefit of such a permutable formula. What else is the Old-Fashioned capable of? To find out, try some of our favorite takes on the template.

Old Fashioned Cocktail Recipe
Recipes

Tom Macy’s Old-Fashioned

Macy's recipe took top place in our recent blind-tasting and calls on a base of Wild Turkey Rye 101.

Old Fashioned Cocktail Recipe
Recipes

In Fashion

A float of smoky mezcal adds a contemporary twist to this Old-Fashioned.

Frangelico Old Fashioned Cocktail Recipe
Recipes

Frangelico Old-Fashioned

This Old-Fashioned tweak substitutes the required sugar for Frangelico.

Recipes

Nova Scotia

A Scotch Old-Fashioned crossed with an Alaska.

Old Grampian Old Fashioned Cocktail Recipe
Recipes

Old Grampian

Rich, full-bodied and complex with a touch of honey for sweetness and two kinds of bitters.

K-O.F.
Recipes

K-O.F.

The Old-Fashioned by way of Korea.

Pandan Old Fashioned Cocktail Recipe
Recipes

Coco Pandan Old-Fashioned

For a tropical touch, infuse your bourbon with pandan.

Jager Cocktail recipe
Recipes

Black Apple Old-Fashioned

This Old-Fashioned riff pairs Jägermeister with apple brandy and apple bitters.

Bitter Handshake
Recipes

Bitter Handshake

An after-dinner Fernet Old-Fashioned brightened with a blood orange reduction.

benton's old fashioned pdt
Recipes

Benton’s Old-Fashioned

PDT's Benton’s Old Fashioned is the drink that introduced the concept of “fat-washing” spirits to the cocktail world.

caribbean queen cocktail recipe
Recipes

Caribbean Queen

This Old-Fashioned riff leans tropical with banana and pineapple.

Oaxaca Old-Fashioned
Recipes

Oaxaca Old-Fashioned

The modern classic that helped spark a boom in mezcal cocktails.

Best Rum Old Fashioned Recipe
Recipes

Jelani Johnson’s Rum Old-Fashioned

Three rums and two types of bitters come together in this winning recipe.

Reverend Palmer
Recipes

Reverend Palmer

An Arnold Palmer meets an Old-Fashioned.

Corn Pop Old Fashioned Cereal Cocktail RD Philadelphia
Recipes

Corn Hub

A twist on an Old-Fashioned recalls campfire s’mores thanks to Corn Pop–infused mezcal.

Baijiu Cocktail
Recipes

Golden Years

A savory Old-Fashioned riff built on a base of baijiu.

Recipes

The Coffee House

An improved, coffee-inflected Old-Fashioned.

Recipes

Pedro Suckerpunch

The essence of an Old-Fashioned channeled into a sherry-laced sour.

Old Grampian Old Fashioned Cocktail Recipe
Recipes

American Trilogy

This Old-Fashioned riff nods to the spirits used in the Diamondback.

sarah morrissey old fashioned
Recipes

Deacon Blues

In her spin on an Old-Fashioned Sarah Morrissey opts for the smoky hint of mezcal alongside overproof bourbon.

Old Fashioned
Recipes

Old-Fashioned Appetizer

An early dressed-up Old-Fashioned with Dubonnet, Curaçao and a dash of absinthe.

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