Latest Drink Recipe
In my opinion, one of the greatest triumphs of the cocktail renaissance is the rediscovery of the classic Old Fashioned. I’ve often spoken of how at some point after the repeal of Prohibition, the Old Fashioned became lost and possibly confused with a long-forgotten drink called a Smash (basically a tarted-up Mint Julep covered in fruit), a mere husk of its former, glorious self.
For decades, bartenders just like me served a limp, weak concoction consisting of a half-muddled sugar cube, a mashed-up neon red cherry and orange, a splash of whiskey, and some soda water drowning the results.
With a little luck, and a lot of hard work, that’s all changed with the renewed interest in classic cocktails. Now at any given night at my bar you can find literally a dozen people sipping on two ounces bourbon touched with a teaspoon of sugar and two dashes of bitters, garnished with a simple orange twist over a couple big ice cubes.
But don’t try to pull that bullshit with the good people of the Great State of Wisconsin, where the Brandy Old Fashioned rules supreme. It’s not the same drink as above, it just shares a name. And if you make it right, really right, it’s a damn delicious cocktail and worthy of examination.
Being located in a hotel, we’re used to serving folks from all over the world. And the first time I witnessed a guest from Wisconsin stare blankly as one of my bartenders handed over two ounces of Cognac touched with a teaspoon of sugar and two dashes of bitters and garnished with a simple orange twist over a couple big ice cubes, I knew some further training was in order.
So in the name of making cocktails – all cocktails – with as much of our hearts as we can offer, I present to you what I believe to be the perfect Brandy Old Fashioned… Wisconsin-style.
I start with an old fashioned glass I’ve chilled in the freezer. Call it a tumbler, call it a double rocks glass, or call it a bucket, it’s a glass you’re familiar with. To that I add two dashes of Angostura bitters and a teaspoon of sugar. If I’m in a hurry I use a 2:1 simple syrup, but if I’m going to spend some time, I use a sugar cube. The sugar cube is preferable here because it’s going to add some friction to the muddling we’re about to do. Brace yourselves, cocktail “nerds”.
Next I’ll take a thick-cut orange wedge, and a cherry. The usual suspect here is a grocery store maraschino cherry, but I always choose a brandied Amarena cherry. Remember, you’re going to get out what you put in, so a quality cherry is going to make the drink that much better.
I muddle the sugar, bitters, orange wedge and cherry into a thick paste, careful not to touch the orange peel too much as it’ll bring unwanted bitterness to the party – just work around the peel and pulverize that orange meat.
Your standard Brandy Old Fashioned brandy of choice is Korbel: cheap California brandy. Considering the hundreds of thousands of cases they ship to Wisconsin every year, it might be considered sacrosanct to use anything else. But if you want to do this right, really right, then do yourself a favor and use some good Cognac. I have my preferred brandy, you have yours.
At this point your typical Wisconsinite barkeep is going to add ice and finish the drink in one of two main ways: sweet or sour. Those who take it sweet will ask for a splash of Sprite or 7-Up, those who take it sour get a dose of Collins Mix or Squirt. To me, it’s just a way of watering down the drink, so I leave out the soda and take a more… cocktail-y method.
Crushed ice is a must for me whenever I whip up a Brandy Old Fashioned. I always skip the soda and let the tiny shards of ice do the work, taming those strong, sweet flavors and turning this into a drink you can sip slowly.
As for a garnish, most will throw a “flag” of an orange wedge and a cherry spiked through with a wooden toothpick, but my take here is that those things are already in the drink, so I skip ‘em. Besides, how pretty does that look without the goofy fruit salad perched over the top?
You know, it’s something to enjoy sipping on while you cook up some bratwurst and onions in a boiling kettle of beer before everyone comes over to watch the Packers game. Drink accordingly.
Brandy Old Fashioned
1 sugar cube or 1 tsp 2:1 simple syrup
2 dashes Angostura bitters
1 orange wedge
1 cherry, preferably Amarena or Maraska
2 oz brandy or Cognac
In a chilled old fashioned glass, muddle the sugar, bitters, orange wedge and cherry into a thick paste, careful not to work the orange peel. Add brandy or Cognac, stir, and fill glass with crushed ice and serve.
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About Me
My name is Jeff Morgenthaler and I'm the bar manager at Clyde Common in Portland, Oregon.
I've been tending bar since 1996 and writing about it since 2004. I started tending bar while getting my degree in Interior Architecture, and slowly I came to the conclusion that bartending was what I really loved, and that I might as well drop everything and focus on being a professional bartender. Over the years I have strived, both behind the bar and with this website, to elevate the experience of having a drink from something mundane to something more culinary.
The writing I do here is intended as a work in progress. My recipes are like my opinions: they are constantly being revised and refined as I work them through my mind and my fingers. Comments and participation are encouraged, so please don't feel the need to tread lightly here.
15 Aug 2006 at 5:58 PM 1. Anonymous
Shouldn’t the dark rum should be “J. Wrays Nephew” a favorite of Trader Vic? And the triple sec be the orginal orange cuarcao, no longer sold off the island?
24 Jan 2007 at 12:57 PM 2. Jeffrey Morgenthaler » My Pilgrimage to Trader Vic’s
[...] Jenny and I started with Mai Tais, and Sarah grabbed a Maui Fizz. The drinks were, in one word, amazing. Absolutely incredible. The Mai Tai was the best I’ve ever had, way better than mine. I’ll print the recipe here when I get home to my Trader Vic’s Bartender’s Guide. They came with crushed ice and we gulped them down in two seconds. The Maui Fizz was light, refreshing, and flash-blended. [...]
12 May 2008 at 11:06 AM 3. Mai tai - roa ae!
[...] is variable. You can to garnish yours Mai Tai with orange wedge and maraschino cherry (flag) (as Jeffrey Morgenthaler), with lime shell and sprig of mint(as Trader Vic) or exotic [...]
26 Mar 2009 at 7:58 AM 4. The Concierge
What kind of Orgeat do you use? The Monin Almond syrup doesn’t seem to be true orgeat. Sonoma Syrup has a Vanilla Almond made with flower water but I heard it has a very strong vanilla flavor. I have been looking for commercially available version rather than making my own because between the blanching of the almonds and inclusion or rose and/or orange flower water- its seems as those the taste can get royally messed up.
Also, btw, have you used the gum arabic and/or orange peel from Tenzing Momo, and, if so, any comments?
Thanks for your contributions that you make through your blog. If I am ever in Portland, your place will definitely be the top of my list.
29 May 2009 at 4:26 PM 5. Tan
making the orgeat is a breeze. it add such flavor and mouth feel and it really is hard to do wrong
05 Apr 2012 at 3:54 AM 6. Nate Rushton
The problem I have with serving this drink…and I have served a lot of these from a ever-so-slightly-different-but-nearly- exact recipe…is that people complain that it’s “not a real” Mai Tai. I think that most people have had a Mai Tai where they serve it with pineapple/orange juice, perhaps Hawaiian style, and is more drinkable for the uninitiated. It’s frustrating for a bartender to follow a recipe exactly and give homage and honor to the original only to have a guest be dissatisfied and question the bartender’s ability or knowledge. I cringe when people order this and it’s been a frustration with my staff to provide a delicious and enjoyable cocktail, yet still be true to what people order.
12 Apr 2012 at 11:49 AM 7. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
Nate – I have the same problem from time to time, but at the very least it provides an opportunity to engage with your guest, maybe even offer up the history of the Mai Tai while they sip.