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.
05 Apr 2008 at 7:03 PM 1. jimmy
blasphemer!
05 Apr 2008 at 11:05 PM 2. Sidney
I’d skip the Herbsaint and use Absinthe. You can get it now legally in the US, no more clandestine boxes arriving from across the pond.
07 Apr 2008 at 9:08 AM 3. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
Great point, Sidney.
09 Apr 2008 at 12:56 PM 4. Mark Parry
Not to sidetrack the Sazerac discussion but the only Absinthe I’ve seen in my neck of the woods (Clearwater, FLA) is Lucid at $60/bottle. Is it any good/worth it?
09 Apr 2008 at 12:58 PM 5. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
Yes, Mark, it’s well worth it. And if you have any extra, send me a few bottles – Oregon gets very little of the stuff in.
10 Apr 2008 at 9:47 AM 6. Jeff Frane
A recent visitor to Oregon is Le Tourment Vert, which is offered in a truly lovely bottle at something around $56 (IIRC). Tempting, yes, until I checked it out at The Wormwood Society.
http://tinyurl.com/4g74na
The only positive review came from someone who found all the other absinthe he’d tried “too strong.”
10 Apr 2008 at 9:53 AM 7. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
The Tourment Vert is the only absinthe listed in Oregon, which is a shame because it isn’t really absinthe.
It tastes like it might actually be half Listerine and half Axe Body Spray. It’s garbage. Steer clear.
19 Apr 2008 at 7:05 PM 8. Aimee Scarlett
I am so insanely jealous that you went to the same high school as Steinbeck.
So on a more technical note (and maybe this should go on the Saz blog) I attempted to make a Sazerac for a young guest the other night at work and in a hurry as usual, I couldn’t get the sugar cube to dissolve and I couldn’t keep stirring it for time’s sake, which resulted in unsightly white crystals in the bottom of my cocktail. I was irritated but had to go serve food to people. I had considered using the simple syrup, but John had hidden it from me.
Anyway long story short, is there any good way to ensure the darn sugar cube disintegrates in a timely fashion without compromising the drink quality? Many times I have much less time than I’d like to craft the drink.
Okay, here it is, so what’s wrong with my sugar cube?
21 Apr 2008 at 6:04 PM 9. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
Aimee
Use a splash of water and a muddler to dissolve the sugar cube before adding the alcohol. Sugar doesn’t readily dissolve in cold water or alcohol, so you need to use the muddler with a little water before you add the booze.
Hope this helps!
Jeff
28 May 2008 at 11:45 PM 10. John Claude
I actually prefer Herbsaint over Absinthe in a Sazerac. Absinthe is overrated in the same was as Jager. It’s all psychosomatic.
29 May 2008 at 10:03 AM 11. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
John, anyone with a palate is going to take you to task for comparing absinthe the Jägermeister.
The truth of the matter is that while Herbsaint makes for a wonderful – and quite traditional – Sazerac (I’ve been making and drinking them with Herbsaint for years), Herbsaint can’t match the depth of flavor that a good absinthe like Lucid can provide.
12 Jul 2008 at 11:49 PM 12. rhesuspieces00
I mentioned this on the Dos & Don’ts page, but will reiterate my plug for my favorite pastis: La Muse Vert. (Not Le Tourment Vert!) Can be had from bevmo.com. I haven’t had too much experience with absinthe (aside from the listerine-like stuff they have everywhere in Prague), but it beats the hell out of Herbsaint and Pernod.
22 Jul 2008 at 7:41 PM 13. NJ Lady
One thing I’d be curious about regarding Herbsaint is that it is intended to leave the breath “perfumed” and not smelling of alcohol. Is it really that floral?
23 Jul 2008 at 8:06 AM 14. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
I’m not sure I follow you, NJ Lady.
15 Feb 2009 at 10:41 PM 15. Absinthe
I am very happy that I found your blog. Keep up the good work.
08 Sep 2009 at 11:31 PM 16. confused...
Hi Jeffrey,
just wondering with your recipe, does it still require a small splash of water if one is using simple syrup?
What is the correct level of dilution for this drink? (correct being what you have found works best for peoples palates today.)
Thanks!
14 Oct 2009 at 8:09 PM 17. NickS
@confused: At least for my palate, no additional water is necessary if using simple syrup. The water is only necessary to help the sugar cube dissolve. I do tend to let the liquids sit over ice for 30 seconds or so as I cut my lemon peel, so that probably provides a fair amount of dilution.
Just watched a well meaning, but terribly bad Sazerac recipe video at about.com — http://video.about.com/cocktails/Sazerac-Recipe.htm. I gave it a try, and Oh Lord, is that version awful, at least with the amount of simple syrup displayed (if not shown — he appears to squeeze much less than 1/2 oz of simple syrup). I just tried it, and 1/2 oz of simple syrup + a pernod rinse is disgustingly sweet. Like drinking alcoholic sugar water.
16 Nov 2010 at 12:14 PM 18. Jenn
Am having a Christmas cocktail party in about a month and love Sazeracs, but don’t want to bartend all night. Is there any way to turn the Sazerac into a punch for large quantities? Is this blasphemy? Thanks!
14 Feb 2011 at 8:41 PM 19. Michael
15ml (1/2 oz) is way too much sugar for my palate. 10ml maybe 11ml is plenty. The spice of the rye gets lost in the sweetness. But this all depends on the rye of course. Rittenhouse demands less sugar than Old Potrero for example, however Old Potrero is such an incredible a rye that you can almost have it with no sugar. i find an Old Potrero 18th Century sazerac is gods gift to the cocktail world. However we cant get Harbsaint in Australia, so absinthe has to do.
And remember to throw your glass!! its so much more fun!
17 Feb 2011 at 9:49 AM 20. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
Michael – I originally called for 1/4 oz (7.5 ml) 1:1 simple syrup, but I’ve changed that to reflect the recipe we use at the bar, which is 1 tsp 2:1 simple syrup. Either way, it comes out about the same.
But yes, a half ounce would have been way too much.
16 Feb 2012 at 11:03 AM 21. Johnathan
I’m wondering if you could shed some light on what sorry of rye would make the most traditional Sazerac. What were the mashbills like for rye at the time? Is a Kentucky rye high in corn acceptable, or should I seek out a higher rye count, such as Whistle Pig or any of the LDI-made 95%ers on the market?
16 Feb 2012 at 11:04 AM 22. Johnathan
That should say “sort” of rye whiskey. Auto-correct.
16 Feb 2012 at 11:08 AM 23. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
Johnathan – My three favorite affordable ryes in a Sazerac cocktail are Rittenhouse Bonded, Wild Turkey Rye (our default choice at the bar) and Sazerac Rye.
03 Sep 2012 at 4:37 PM 24. Paul
I didn’t have absinthe on hand. I subbed in Becherovka and a little but of Brennivin. Absolutely the same effect.
11 Feb 2013 at 6:58 PM 25. John
I look forward to using some of your suggestions tomorrow night. I especially like the idea of using the Cognac instead of rye whiskey. Serving drinks in a family restaraunt in Eugene where some folks might not be used to the straight whiskey sazerac… meaning the Cognac will make it a bit more drinkable for some people. Any suggestions on using cognac instead of rye whiskey? Or would sticking to the same recipe you had and substituting the Cognac result in a good Cocktail?
11 Feb 2013 at 7:03 PM 26. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
John – Use the same recipe when using cognac. I promise it will be perfect.
28 Feb 2013 at 2:37 PM 27. RP
Two questions (technically one, with a follow up)…
1. Would it be insane to try to barrel-age a sazerac, or does that really just defeat the purpose? I get the pureness of the drink and it’s process, but would be curious to know how it might taste with a few weeks in oak.
2. If that’s reasonable (or at least not a “no, you idiot”), then would these roughly be the proportions you’d use for a 2L barrel?
1780 oz Rye Whiskey
110 ml Simple Syrup (2:1)
55 ml Peychaud’s Bitter
35 ml Absinthe
20 ml Angostura bitters
10 Apr 2013 at 10:01 PM 28. Montgomery Sutton
I’ve been a fan of Bulleit Rye Whiskey for my Sazarecs… And I usually up the Peychaud’s and Angostura by 1-2 drops each. With the simple (and affordable) Absinthe Ordinaire from France. I prefer it without the peel at all, though — anyone have ideas for improving this mixture or other preferences to experiment with?