Learn How to Make a Classic Old Fashioned Cocktail properly. It’s a blend of bourbon, bitters, simple syrup and the best cherries for a well-balanced cocktail.

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Welp, we’ve finally done it. After about a year, J and I finally managed to carve out some time to make his favorite cocktail, an Old Fashioned, for all of you. If there’s anything you should know about my hubby is that the man is…precise, particular and well…we’re both a bit snobbish when it comes to cocktails.
In order to make a classic old fashioned cocktail, you need the right tools and the right ingredients to make the flavors of really great bourbon shine. I find the same to be true for Mint Juleps, too! You have to check out my recipe.

Jared’s like me in that he’ll spend time crafting the perfect cocktail. After ordering so many too sweet or watered down Old Fashioned cocktails, he took the time to create his own recipe. It’s stout, it’s unapologetic, bourbon forward and it’s delicious.
A few of J’s tips for making this classic cocktail:
- Always store your old fashioned glasses in the freezer. Take one out when you need a drink and it helps keep it cool.
- We use ice spheres in our cocktails. Here are the molds we like.
- Get the best bourbon or rye whiskey you can. Our favorites include Bulleit, Angels Envy (pictured), Knobb Creek, Woodford Reserve, and Buffalo Trace to name a few.
- The cherries make ALL THE DIFFERENCE. We only use Luxardo cherries. They’re worth the price tag. We actually bought a huge container for our wedding if you’re looking for an event!

Here’s how to prepare the old fashioned:


Start with a fresh, juicy orange. We like to use a vegetable peeler to get a nice, healthy piece of rind to rim the glass and flavor the cocktail. The first few times you make these, make sure to measure precisely to get the balance of flavors down.


Make sure you have plenty of ice in your shaker. All of you other ingredients should be ready to assemble, too. Shake, shake, shake – and pour. Alternately, you can stir the borbon, bitters and simple syrup in a crystal cocktail mixer.

When everything is ice cold and incorporated, pour the contents over your ice sphere or cube. Add your cherries and enjoy this perfectly balanced classic old fashioned cocktail.
Love whiskey drinks? Try out my Irish Mule or my Mint Julep!
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How to Make a Classic Old Fashioned Cocktail
Learn How to Make a Classic Old Fashioned Cocktail properly. It’s a blend of bourbon, bitters, simple syrup and the best cherries for a well-balanced cocktail.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 cocktail 1x
- Category: Cocktail/Drink
Ingredients
- 4 oz. bourbon or rye whiskey
- .75 oz simple syrup
- 2–4 dashes Angostura bitters
- 1 orange peel
- 2 Luxardo cherries
- 1 toothpick
- ice – here’s the sphere mold we use + you’ll need more for stirring or shaking
- Old Fashioned glass or short tumbler, chilled.
Instructions
- Add a few ice cubes to the bottom of a cocktail shaker. You can also stir this cocktail, just add ice to the bottom of a crystal mixing glass.
- Take your orange peel and run it around the rim of the glass. Add a few ice cubes or an ice sphere to the bottom of the glass.
- In the cocktail shaker or pitcher, add the bourbon or whiskey, simple syrup, and bitters. Shake or stir well.
- Pour into the glass with ice.
- Garnish with 2 cherries on the toothpick and the orange peel. Cheers!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cocktail
- Calories: 408
- Sugar: 17 g
- Sodium: 1 mg
- Fat: 0 g
- Saturated Fat: 0 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 23 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 0 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Keywords: cocktail, bourbon, whiskey, drink
This post was originally published in September 2018 and was updated in August 2019.
Just got our mini bar at home finished and I made this to practice my mixing skills and this was perfect! Simple and easy to do! I recommend this really.
★★★★★