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.
28 Jul 2008 at 12:25 PM 1. NW
Nice job bud. ‘The Witch’ is totally underutilized in my opinion.
28 Jul 2008 at 12:27 PM 2. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
Thanks, Neyah. I’m a big fan of The Witch as well and wish that more people tried substituting it for Benedictine and Chartreuse, if only for curiosity’s sake.
28 Jul 2008 at 4:03 PM 3. Stevi Deter
Given that they’ve apparently decided that we only need B&B in Washington, and not just straight Benedictine, I may have to try subbing Strega when my carefully guarded stash finally disappears.
29 Jul 2008 at 6:36 AM 4. Paul Zablocki
The Vieux Carré at the Hotel Monteleone was just “okay.” I’ve been eyeing a bottle of Strega at Astor for far too long. Today is the day I finally pick one up. Thanks for the recipe!
29 Jul 2008 at 7:26 AM 5. Rick
Beautiful shot Jeffrey.
29 Jul 2008 at 8:12 AM 6. Lance J. Mayhew
Nice work my friend! And even better, the Strega idea is PERFECT for an upcoming OBG class that I have to make a cocktail with some farmers market ingredients.
29 Jul 2008 at 1:04 PM 7. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
Thanks, everyone! And Rick, thanks for the photo compliment. Coming from you, that does indeed mean a lot.
29 Jul 2008 at 6:04 PM 8. Tokyo Tea
Unfortunately I, like many others, couldn’t attend T.O.C. but I keep hearing about how the Carousel “butchered” their signature drink. Extremely confused as to how even a not-so-experienced tender could screw this up given a jigger, the appropriate recipe and a little time. Any ideas?
29 Jul 2008 at 6:13 PM 9. NW
Ever been the last man standing in a dodgeball match? Now imagine being that guy, then having all your old teammates grabbing balls and throwing at you from behind. That’s pretty much what it is like to work a circle bar. Not many people are up to it. Even fewer experienced bartenders I suspect.
Marvin is great guy and very capable. However, he has got a serious Sisyphus syndrome going on down there.
29 Jul 2008 at 7:51 PM 10. erik_ellestad
Wow, nice rock. Cocktail sounds good, too.
29 Jul 2008 at 9:52 PM 11. John Claude
Hey, Jeffery. Is Strega on the list of Oregon approved liquors? I’d love to get some for whatever bar I end up working at when I move back, but I’m wary of the OLCC. Also, do you know if Herbsaint is on there as well? I’d prefer using that over Ricard in my Sazeracs.
30 Jul 2008 at 4:44 PM 12. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
The bartenders at the Carousel did an amazing job dealing with all of us. I think people just wished that they’d staffed a little more appropriately for the mountain of drink nerds that descended upon them every day and night.
Erik – thanks, that rock kept me nice and cool as I sipped on that thing for an hour and a half.
John Claude – It doesn’t look like Strega is listed by the state, but I haven’t had any problems yet finding bottles here in Eugene. Someone must be doing some special orders and keeping us in The Witch.
30 Jul 2008 at 11:32 PM 13. John Claude
As in you’re finding them at the liquor store? That’s good to know. Stupid OLCC. : P I still need to find out if my bottle of Creme De Violette is legal.
31 Jul 2008 at 7:23 AM 14. Tiare
Excellent cocktail and pic! and that ice rocks! Thanks for recipe.
01 Aug 2008 at 5:11 PM 15. Belinda
Yes, Stega is available in Oregon. For Oregon retail liquor stores, it is on special order, which means they have to buy a case at a time and wait 3 months to get it. Uptown Liquor on NW 23rd Place has it.
Here is a drink recipe using Stega that Chris Hannah of Arnaud’s French 75 bar in New Orleans made up using a touch of the local Saffron vodka.
Saffron Tea
1 1/2 oz Sub Rosa Saffron vodka
2 oz green tea
1/2 oz Strega
3/4 oz limoncello
1/2 oz honey
Shaken,strained over ice in a Collins glass.
01 Aug 2008 at 10:18 PM 16. John Claude
Thanks Belinda! Does that store carry some of the more esoteric stuff? When I was living in Portland (I’ll be moving back in February) I could barely find rye whiskeys at my local (the one near the Safeway off of NE Broadway. The store we ordered from for work (Wonder Ballroom/Cafe Wonder) had a little better selection. Is there anywhere to see or print a list of the liquors that are ok to have in Oregon?
01 Aug 2008 at 11:07 PM 17. John Claude
Almost forgot. I know about the two lists on the OLCC website. There’s the Price List and the Current Product List. One being incomplete (Price) and the other just being a clusterfuck and a nightmare to find anything in (Product List). I was hoping for something more concise and organized.
02 Aug 2008 at 5:27 PM 18. Jeff Frane
John Claude, the Broadway liquor store is god awful. You will want to explore Uptown Liquor in NW Portland; 11th Avenue Liquor on Hawthorne; and the new Pearl Specialty store (just over the Broadway Bridge). That store has some bizarre deal going with the OLCC and can sell beer & wine as well as liquor. Plus, they’re open until 10 and they’re open on Sundays. They’ve been good at getting higher-end specialty booze, although both of the other stores have larger selections. Uptown has whatever rye is available in the state, same for bourbon and great single malt selection.
02 Aug 2008 at 7:14 PM 19. eas
John Claude – The Creme de Violette is now legal in Oregon. I was shocked and delighted to find Lemon Hart Demerara at the Pearl Specialty Shop – you won’t find that much of anywhere on the east coast.
02 Aug 2008 at 11:12 PM 20. John Claude
Oh great, thanks! When I move back from Rhode Island in February, hopefully wherever I end up working again will do their ordering from someplace decent. Otherwise I’m not above trekking to a particular store (which I have in the past) and bringing a receipt to work to get reimbursed. My last job I was the head bartender so I had the say on what we brought in. I have a feeling I’ll be starting off low-man this time and I’ll have to work my way up to talking the owners into carrying the more esoteric stuff.
Also, the iPhone CocktailDB app? Amazing. And only $4.99 until August 31st (when after it shoots back up to $9.99)
08 Sep 2011 at 4:24 AM 21. Kostas Alexiou
Hey Jeffrey!
I am making some cinnamon tincture. In this recipe you call for three weeks and in the video for six. Should I go three and see if I want more maturation?
And I used vodka because here in Greece it’s not that easy to find grain alcohol. Is it a lot different in the final product?
Cheers from Greece!
12 Nov 2011 at 9:20 PM 22. Fiona
This is the first drink that drew me to your blog, and it remains one of my favorites. Now that autumn has rolled around again I pulled it back out and it’s just as tasty as I remember. Thanks so much for sharing!