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.
31 Jul 2008 at 10:12 PM 1. Andy
I think you just sold me on a buying bottle of rum tomorrow.
31 Jul 2008 at 10:18 PM 2. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
We’ll be expecting a full report here in the comments section, Andy.
01 Aug 2008 at 12:43 AM 3. Pete
I have to agree, this entire article is pretty much what I thought of this rum when I first bought a bottle on a whim. The taste profile came out in pretty much exactly the way you describe, right down to that soft, moreish finish.
I think in terms of value, this is definitely one of the best bottles I’ve found. And you’re right about the versatility from a price point of view too – to me a £50 product could be the most drinkable and mixable spirit ever, but I’m not going to buy bottle after bottle.
£20-25 is about right for a high-quality, almost-every-day bottle, and this is where the Matusalem wins out. My main everyday rum is Havana Club Anejo Especial (£17), but when I want that little something nicer, out comes the Matusalem, with no worries about whether I can afford to buy another bottle after this one.
01 Aug 2008 at 7:26 AM 4. Tiare
Very good review of a very good rum.This rum is always positively spoken about in the Ministry of Rum forum.
01 Aug 2008 at 9:39 AM 5. blair frodelius
I have been nothing but pleased with all of the Ron Matusalem products. The only rums that come close in my opinion are the Appleton, Plantation or Barbancourt rums.
Of course,they all mix well, but the aged rums give scotch a run for the money (and in terms of cost, they really do!).
Cheers!
Blair
01 Aug 2008 at 12:41 PM 6. Scortch
I was lucky to discover this about 6-7 years ago when a buddy bought a bottle on the whim that he’d simply never heard of the stuff before (it was a whopping $23 a bottle back then!). Tried for the first time straight, it was quickly dubbed “Liquid Gold” and has been a personal fav that has done nothing but won more and more fans in my circle over the years.
02 Aug 2008 at 8:24 AM 7. Jeff Frane
Lance Mayhew beat you to the punch by a couple of days over at his blog. Sounds like the rep knows who to visit to get the word out.
02 Aug 2008 at 1:08 PM 8. Jeff Frane
And it’s about $41 here in OLCC stores — for us peasants.
02 Aug 2008 at 5:57 PM 9. Scottes
Yep, a great rum. Be sure to check out their other products, too. Their Platino is very much a Cuban-style rum, and makes for a great Mojito. It’s a great white – and I don’t say that often.
04 Aug 2008 at 2:06 PM 10. Kevin Langmack
Yes, the Matusalem is an awesome rum that i’ve been lucky enough until recently to use a lot. It was used in a few menu cocktails and my fav with the Matusalem was a 12 year lullaby. Rum, Curacao, lemon and port. We can’t get it easily here in Wa. I’ll have to grab a bottle next time I go to Portland.
04 Aug 2008 at 8:34 PM 11. Mike M
This has to be my absolute favourite rum producer. The only problem is that the LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario) in Ottawa stopped carrying it.
If you’re interested in a slightly sweeter and more vanilla/caramel flavoured rum, I would recommend their 10 year old bottle. It’s not quite as subtle as the 15 year old, but works well both straight up and in mixed drinks.
As I can no longer get my hands on this, I have moved on to El Dorado Rum, which has 5, 12, and 15 year old bottles. The 12 is incredible, and for the price ($36.00 Canadian if memory serves me correctly) it’s a good buy. I have yet to try the 15 yea old, but at 55+ a bottle, I would recommend the 12 over it.
The best bargain (at least until recently) was probably the 5 year old. The rum was a demerara sugar rum aged in oak for 5 years, and until a few months ago retailed for 10 cents LESS than Bacardi Silver (which is as bottom of the barrel as you can get in my opinion). While not nearly as mellow as the 12 year old, it’s still damn good.
Cheers!
(Now I have to hunt down a bottle of Matusalem again)
04 Aug 2008 at 8:42 PM 12. Dood
Just got back from Vegas so I barely found this. Great rum. The Gran Reserva is one of the rums that I keep stocked on my shelf at all times.
It’s great neat, rocks, in a cocktail, it whitens your teeth while you sleep, and gives your car an additional 6 miles to the gallon!!!
As Scottes said, you should definitely check out their other offerings. The Platino is often the base rum for any infusions I do and is great for having around at parties for punches, daiquiris, or mojitos.
04 Aug 2008 at 11:41 PM 13. Tiare
When it comes to El Dorado rums, the 15 has been my all time fav rum since about 15 years, and Mike M, i think you owe it to yourself to at least try it once, its an incredible rum. And i`m not saying the 12 is bad;-)
The El Dorado rums are so special.They have 2 wooden pot stills – one is a single wooden pot and the other is a double wooden pot and then they have the wooden Coffey still, the only one still operating in the world.
04 Aug 2008 at 11:54 PM 14. Tiare
I wasn`t clear, the wooden Coffey still is the same as the wooden continuous still, the single wooden pot still.
05 Aug 2008 at 7:37 PM 15. Mike M
Thanks Tiare, I may just have to. I’ll wait for a good excuse to get one, like finishing my thesis. =P
06 Aug 2008 at 10:52 AM 16. Bruce T
This is the rum I have been looking for off and on for 25 years. My father raved of this rum and said it was the best he had ever had.
08 Aug 2008 at 5:02 PM 17. juliana
Dude, you get me to try the weirdest stuff – I don’t like gin, I don’t like rum, and yet I’ll look for this rum. It doesn’t look like I’ll be able to come up this weekend (sadface), but I did call you out in my blog.
Smooch!
10 Aug 2008 at 12:50 PM 18. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
Hey Juliana -sorry we missed you this weekend, I finally enlisted some friends to help drain the last of my Matusalem bottle. And look at you, blogging on your own now! Very nice.