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.
26 Sep 2007 at 10:09 AM 1. anita
I highly recommend making your own tomato juice year-round with canned tomatoes, if you can’t get your hands on good fresh ones. I promise it’s better than canned by a wide enough margin that you won’t mind the effort.
Method described here:
http://marriedwithdinner.com/2006/12/29/dotw-bloody-mary/
26 Sep 2007 at 10:30 AM 2. Jeffrey
Anita, did I forget to mention that I’m also lazy?
Okay, I’ll try it this weekend and report back, I promise.
30 Sep 2007 at 11:32 PM 3. Cheryl Charming
I love that beautiful pitcher you are using! This is also the first time I’ve seen someone else use steak sauce besides me. I like to use A-1.
Cheryl
01 Oct 2007 at 10:27 PM 4. Jeffrey
Thanks, Cheryl!
I stole the steak sauce and the avocado from a good friend here in town, Ric Lee, who has been making the best Bloody Marys in Oregon for a long, long time.
He wouldn’t give me his recipe, so I had to try to reverse-engineer it here.
And Anita, you’re right. The Muir Glen tomatoes, when pureéd, taste wonderfully tomato-y in a Bloody Mary.
However, for those of you making Bloody Marys in a pinch, I stand by my original recipe.
03 Oct 2007 at 12:37 PM 5. Diana
I’m making a gallon (probably two) of your bloody mary mix to take to the Skins game this Sunday. Will it taste as delicious if I add the vodka to the mix the night before, or at least the morning of the game so it’s all in one container for easier transportation?
03 Oct 2007 at 1:14 PM 6. Jeffrey
Diana
I don’t see why it would hurt, so try it and give us a full report on Monday, will ya?
Jeff
03 Oct 2007 at 1:15 PM 7. Diana
Wow, you’re fast.
I shall.
07 Oct 2007 at 7:51 PM 8. Scott
Where can I get that wonderful pitcher in your picture?
08 Oct 2007 at 2:40 PM 9. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
Hey Scott
I’ve gotten a lot of comments about that pitcher, but I don’t know what to tell you. I think it belonged to my girlfriend’s grandmother.
09 Oct 2007 at 7:06 AM 10. Diana
Mixing the vodka in with everything else the night before didn’t seem to bother the BM’s at all. It definitely made transport to the field much easier.
09 Oct 2007 at 10:37 AM 11. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
Thanks, Diana!
But let’s call them something other than “BMs”, can’t we?
10 Oct 2007 at 1:39 PM 12. Steph
We made yuor bloody mary mix last weekend and it was a huge hit! Thanks for a wonderful website.
21 Oct 2007 at 10:10 AM 13. Anne
What would be the amount of vodka to add to the recipe to make Bloody Marys in quantity, similar to your superb “margaritas by the gallon” recipe?
22 Oct 2007 at 5:31 PM 14. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
Anne
I think one full fifth of vodka would work well with these quantities.
But try it yourself and let me know!
Jeff
16 Jan 2008 at 4:42 PM 15. kara
Thanks for the recipe. Going to mix up a batch right now!
30 Jan 2008 at 11:24 PM 16. Brendon
Hmm.. That does sound like it could be good, but generally speaking, I don’t like my bloody marys to taste like a prime rib. Isnt the focus of the Bloody Mary supposed to be on the tomatoe?
31 Jan 2008 at 10:56 AM 17. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
This is definitely not the classic Bloody Mary recipe, Brendon, but rather one of the billion variations out there.
But if you’re gearing up for Super Bowl Sunday this weekend, a little prime rib might be just what the doctor ordered.
19 Aug 2008 at 11:29 AM 18. aaron hedrick
great site-it’s on my favorites now.
21 Dec 2008 at 9:12 AM 19. dbs
I won’t lie- I make a mean bloody mary (ask flowers) ;)
but this looks stellar, I will have to try it for sure!
26 Dec 2008 at 10:44 PM 20. BethAnne
My favorite health drink — it’s almost a salad in a glass!
19 May 2009 at 12:03 PM 21. Christie
Is it ok to make this about 2-3 days before you are going to drink it?
14 Jul 2009 at 11:26 PM 22. mike
Bringing your mix to the North West String Summit in North Plains this weekend. Looks great, I’ll let ya know the results.
09 Aug 2009 at 7:50 PM 23. Christine
First – recipe rocks! (Best served on a race boat before you head out of the harbor, with ‘Crazy Train’ playing, garnished with a marinated string bean)
But I digress…
The pitcher: I bet it has a ‘Corning’ or ‘heat proof glass’ mark on it somewhere. It’s a coffee carafe (vintage) – put ‘coffee carafe warmer’ into ebay, you should find several similar pieces with the silver warming base. Gorgeous!
10 Sep 2009 at 10:38 PM 24. Dina
Jeff- by far THE BEST Bloody Mary recipe EVER! Took a double batch up to Tahoe for girls’ weekend thinking they’d last Saturday and Sunday… not a chance. 5 of us polished these off in no time…
YOU ARE MAGNIFICENT AND SO ARE YOUR BMs (I know… I know… couldn’t resist! Sorry)
08 Dec 2009 at 1:16 AM 25. Rachel
Jeff,
I was looking for a recipe that was out of the ordinary and when I saw avocado and steak sauce I thought YES!!! I don’t like horseradish so I omitted that but other than that I made a double batch and took it camping and everyone was in awe of how AWESOME it tasted. I also like a “salad” in my bloody so I put Celery, Pickled Asparagus, Green Olives, Twist of lime, and a Pepperoncini pepper…DELICIOUS!!
12 Apr 2011 at 6:50 PM 26. Hector
Recipe looks very similar to what I am working on. Sub avocado for onion powder and if you are going to used canned tomatos used italian tomatoes
15 Feb 2012 at 9:24 AM 27. Nadia
Find the ” pitcher… which is really a coffee carafe here :
http://www.ebay.com/itm/330674717693?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649
28 Jan 2013 at 8:21 AM 28. Samantha
Found this Bloody Mary mix via Pinterest and tried it last night for the first time – it was wonderful!! Thanks for posting! Although I will confess, I added a little more hot sauce and black pepper because I like mine a little more spicy :)