Taking second place in our 2024 Old-Fashioned blind tasting was this version from Arvid Brown, of Room for Improvement in Portland, Maine, made with a high-proof bourbon (specifically Old Grand-Dad 114), Demerara syrup and a house bitters blend. The drink is built in the glass and garnished with an expressed orange twist and a cherry, the latter being the only quibble among the judges, who thought a cherry did not belong in the drink.
Arvid Brown’s Old-Fashioned
Arvid Brown | Portland, Maine
Ingredients
Serving: 1
- 2 ounces Old Grand-Dad 114 bourbon
- 2 bar spoons Demerara Syrup (1:1, sugar:water)
- 4 dashes Angostura bitters
- 2 dashes “Rango” orange bitters (1:1 blend of Regans’ orange bitters and Angostura orange bitters)
Garnish: Luxardo cherry, expressed orange peel
Directions
- Add all ingredients to a rocks glass, building over a big cube.
- Stir in the glass for 5 to 10 seconds.
- Garnish with a Luxardo cherry and an expressed orange peel.