been using Blanton’s. Muddling a slice of blood orange, 2 Luxardo cherries, 1/2 tsp sugar, few drops of cherry bitters, then adding 2 oz bourbon, stirring, adding ice, sometimes another whole cherry to eat after finishing the drink. Great drink. Two tonight.
My grandmother had one of these every night until she was about 100. She died a few years after she stopped, so don’t stop.
A very important topic! I throw a barspoon of demerara sugar into the bottom of my glass, followed by a healthy dose of bitters. Then either a lemon or orange peel. Muddle this until the sugar is reasonably dissolved, then pour 3 oz or so of liquor on top of this, then add a large ice cube. Sometimes I add an amarena cherry at the end, sometimes not, but I certainly don’t muddle any fruit flesh into the drink. I get irrationally angry at the thought of little chunks of fruit in my old fashioned, or, god forbid, some sort of soda or soda water. Not really sure which is worse for me.
I’m a bit vague on bitters and liquor, because I often sub different things in and out. When I’m feeling traditional it’s Angostura or orange bitters with rye, but I also stray pretty far from this on a regular basis. Jamie Boudreau’s triple old fashioned is one of my favorite innovations: https://spiritsandcocktails.wordpress.com/2010/10/23/old-fashioned-cubed-and-syruped/. Quite easy to make, but it does require a tiny bit of prep.
Never made one at home before, but I’ll keep an eye out on this thread for some ideas
This. Plus I generally use rye and not bourbon.
Yes, rye ftw! 
I keep it traditionally simple, though out of convenience, I don’t use sugar cube.
Start with a few drops of light agave nectar
Add a few dashes of Angostura bitters
Mix
add 2-3 ounces Rye, prefer Rittenhouse
add a Large ice cube
Heavy 2 oz Rye, light 1/2 oz Licor 43, 6-8 dashes bitters, twist orange peel
probably my favorite drink to play around with because it’s so elemental and a great way to showcase bitters - my collection is now over 30 i think and growing quickly.
for those that like angostura, do yourself a favor and get Fee Brothers Barrel Aged bitters. You’ll never use Ango again - similar island spice mix, but so much deeper. it’s grand cru, imo and very versatile. great in a manhattan
Ooh I’ve been trying to figure out what to do with my licor 43. How was this?
Scott
After having it this way, I’ve never liked any other version as much. Been drinking these for 3 years.
will look for those bitters.
All of these ideas are fine, but I always use Rittenhouse or Sazerac, never bourbon. I wouldn’t turn down a bourbon OF but I’d much rather have it with rye.
Me, too. Always Rittenhouse 100 proof.
Same simple method as others described…
Demerara cube with a few dashes of bitters (pretty partial to our own but we use as many other bitters as we can to understand variances) and a strip of orange peel and a splash of rye.
Muddle.
Add an ice cube and start stirring continually while slowly adding a bit more rye, another ice cube… until I’ve added about 2 1/2oz of rye and 6 or so cubes. Glass should be super chilled by then.
Wife prefers bourbon over rye so those get made a lot as well.
Love OF variations too. The Oaxacan OF from Death&Co is a must try.
Isn’t six cubes of sugar like 4.5 tsp? That seems like a lot of sugar.
I think he meant ice at that point in the recipe. 1 cube of sugar to begin.
Alan,
Fee brothers is based in Rochester NY, I’d be interested to see if you can find them in CA. It may be best to order & have them shipped, Kegworks is a solid supplier and you could put together a nice bitters order from their offerings.
Like Yaacov, I will use different bitters to change up the taste profile, and different whiskeys as well.
I just whipped up some demerara simple sugar so perhaps I will whip one up tonight! The Bittermens Tiki bitters, which are heavy on cardamom/cinnamon, and the Mole bitters are my two favorites. Currently using the WL Weller Special Reserve Bourbon for mixed drinks.
What James said…yes. (edited my post above for clarity)