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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.
10 Apr 2012 at 10:24 AM 1. Donald Kenney
This, for me, is the best representation of hospitality in bartending.
A tacit acknowledgement that it’s not all about you, and you are here to give people what they want, made with the best possible ingredients and methods.
Keep it up.
10 Apr 2012 at 10:58 AM 2. Zach Smith
My dad grew up in Wisconsin and prefers his brandy old fashioned with a teaspoon of sugar two dashes of bitters and Corbel brandy. I also make mine the same way and they are great. Adding in all the other stuff gets too sweet for me, but I do get funny looks from bartenders up there when I order one like that. However I have converted a few of my Wisconsin school mates over to the more simple side of life.
10 Apr 2012 at 11:00 AM 3. Chuck
How have your visiting Wisconsinites reacted to this version? With big smiles, I hope!
10 Apr 2012 at 11:29 AM 4. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
Big smiles all around, Chuck. And the most oft-heard comment is, “Nobody out here knows how to make an Old Fashioned!”
We may have come full circle.
10 Apr 2012 at 12:18 PM 5. Tim Nowaczyk
I grew up in Wisconsin and am very familiar with this drink. Never really had one myself, though. Just a bit of a side-note- my mom always orders Southern Comfort Old-fashioned Sweets.
10 Apr 2012 at 1:54 PM 6. 'Gos
I like this with brandy for sure, thoughts on it with bourbon though? Being a little drier all that fruit seems like a good addition to the brandy, but man, with bourbon, sometimes the sugar alone gets to cloying for me. Different strokes for different folks?
10 Apr 2012 at 3:03 PM 7. Manuela Savona
Thanks Jeff for the lovely shot of Pierre Ferrand Cognac in this story. Am I right to guess that it’s your preferred Cognac for the Brandy Old-Fashioned? Thank you from Alexandre, Guillaume and the Cognac Ferrand team.
10 Apr 2012 at 4:16 PM 8. Micker
Great writeup – born, raised, and currently reside in WI. You forgot one other traditional way of finishing the original drink – that is, the brandy old fashioned “press”. Press is short for Presbyterian, and refers to finishing it with soda water. It may be cocktail nerd blasphemy, but nothing is better than sucking down brandy old fashioned press’s (press-i?) with da game on.
10 Apr 2012 at 4:32 PM 9. Scott Diaz
Love the idea of crushed ice to help with dilution without wreaking the drink. I usually only add water or soda in the form of a tsp to help breakdown the sugar cube if I don’t use any muddled citrus or simple syrup. Delicious and simple, Jeffrey. This would be a great entry for Tales of the Cocktail Old Fashioned contest this year.
10 Apr 2012 at 10:26 PM 10. Patrick
I will be traveling from PDX to LaCrosse, WI in May, and now I’m going to order one of these over there to see what I get.
One of the customers at my bar mentioned this post tonight. I said, “Surely not Morgenthaler! Muddling fruit? A FRUIT SALAD OLD FASHIONED??”
Now I see why. I’m going to amend my draft on how to make a basic old fashioned to mention this time-honored derivation.
11 Apr 2012 at 12:19 AM 11. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
Micker – I said, “in one of two main ways.” The press (short for Presbyterian, by the way) is a less-sweet version of the Sweet Old Fashioned: half seltzer, half 7-Up or ginger ale.
There’s a fourth way, and that’s all seltzer.
11 Apr 2012 at 1:41 AM 12. Ryan
I had the privilege of visiting clyde commons last week and was at a loss for what to get, knowing that everything would be great. I got the sparkling americano and it was fantastic, but now I wish I had gotten a brandy old fashioned. This means that I need to get back to Portland.
11 Apr 2012 at 7:38 AM 13. Bull Garlington
Can you start a campaign or something? Why doesn’t anyone know how to make a decent Old Fashioned anymore? And this variation is wonderful. I might add that Blood Orange bitters make it even better.
11 Apr 2012 at 7:45 AM 14. Kabouter
This made me laugh. I don’t think I would order a brandy old fashioned outside a WI towny bar with an older barkeep behind the stick, but I think it is awesome you are posting about this cocktail. It is a great regional drink that pretty much everyone here knows about. Next on your list could be dessert drinks like the Brandy Alexander… ha.
Cheers, from WI
11 Apr 2012 at 8:45 AM 15. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
Did someone say Brandy Alexander?
11 Apr 2012 at 9:31 AM 16. Bonny
This southern gal experiments with new drinks every Friday night with the family. Sounds like we’ll break tradition and cross the Mason-Dixon line this Friday. Looking forward to muddling through! Great article. You love your craft and it shows.
13 Apr 2012 at 8:11 AM 17. Gerry
Have been a fan for a while.
Thank you for posting this. As a ‘Sconnie (from Wisconsin), I found this great reading. But I wanted to mention another way that this is served, atypically unique up here.
And that’s the garnish. One of the ways we order it is “Brandy Old Fashioned Sweet with Olives.” I think the briney, savory quality of the olives tones down the sweet notes to address some of the concerns about cloying sweetness. Sort of like a Wisconsin take on the Chinese Five Flavors concept.
And one other note on How to order your Old Fashioned like a true Wisconsonite
Just follow the three simple steps and be sure to let the bartender know:
Which spirits
Which topper
Which garnish
So the next time you visit a Supper Club, say to the bartender : “I’ll take a brandy old fashioned sweet, double olives, thanks”
14 Apr 2012 at 6:20 AM 18. Mark Spivak
David,
Great post—the drink sounds delicious, Korbel brandy or not. I’m assuming you saw the recent piece on the Old Fashioned by David Wondrich on esquire.com? He takes the minimalist approach—no fruit at all.
16 Apr 2012 at 9:18 AM 19. drew
Although the brandy variation is almost strictly a Wisconsin thing I would like to note that in his “Craft of the Cocktail”, Dale Degroff says that the 1862 whiskey cobbler is the grandaddy of the.old fashioned and is shaken with two slices of orange, and also that Mr.Degroff prefers the muddled preparation. Also I would like to offer a warning to anyone coming to Wisconsin to try a brandy old fashioned: make sure to verify that it will be muddled, many places cheat and use an old fashioned mix by finest call which in my opinion is an abomination.
16 Apr 2012 at 10:04 AM 20. Len Riggs Server Training
Looks like a great recipe! Kinda like a boozy smoothie with all that fruit in the bottom. We’ll be trying this one this summer…
20 Apr 2012 at 2:15 PM 21. Amy
This was fun to read! I’m Sconnie born and bred, and I spent many years bartending there. A brandy Old Fashioned was definitely one of the most commonly ordered, which I have learned seems very odd to people in other parts of the country… even just a state over in Minneapolis where I live now.
I appreciate the reminder about calling the ‘topper’. If you simply order a ‘brandy old fashioned’ in WI, the bartender will likely just stare at you waiting for you to finish. Soda, sweet, sour, or press? Also, it’s true that there are a fair amount of people who order olives as the garnish, despite the orange and cherry muddled in the bottom of the glass. I don’t like it, but maybe there’s a salty-sweet appeal for some people?
I’m not the Ops Director for 6 restaurants in Minneapolis (all owned by another Sconie) and we’ve put a lot of work into making our Old Fashioneds classic WI style. It took some work to make the bartenders understand how sacrosanct this cocktail is to those of us who grew up with it, but it’s worth it. Nothing tastes better to me when I’m waiting for my Friday night fish fry than a Korbel brandy old fashioned press *properly* made. Thanks for writing about it!
21 Apr 2012 at 2:29 AM 22. lvfrankg
Great post and photos. This is my mom’s cocktail of choice on the rare occasion when she chooses to partake. I’m going to make one for her next time she comes to visit, and I’m going to use this recipe for sure. Excellent blog. Cheers!
24 Apr 2012 at 6:32 PM 23. Victoria
My father and is cousins had a few bar in North Beach, San Francisco, back in teh 50’s 60’s & 70’s. Your recipe is exactly is how I was taught to make Old Fashioned’s, but NEVER simple syrup,always cubed sugar..You just don’t get the same result with simple..
Because were were from North Beach, when Papa’s homemade Brandy was out..we used Korbel.Korbel is from the Russian River,a beautiful artisan distillery umongst the Redwoods..Its This drink was not lost, or forgotten..just in a different place.
25 Apr 2012 at 9:37 PM 24. Jared B
I”ve been following your blog and all the other classic cocktail masters for years now, Jeffrey, and this goes against everything everyone has said about Old Fashioneds! Smashed up fruit salad. Club soda. Egads! All that time trying to un-train my bartenders from doing (typically) whisky old fashioneds in this style… I am going to treat this as a regional drink and leave it to those bartenders in WI.
12 May 2012 at 5:05 AM 25. Strayhiker
Jeff
Love that your addressed this regional delicacy. After 15 years in WI, marrying a native cheesehead, and falling in love with most everything WI (except lutefisk and driving slow in the left lane) I must admit this has become one of life’s simplest pleasures. Also, perhaps it is a local aberration, but my in-laws swear by pickled mushrooms topping their OFs. Sweet, sour, pour me another!
13 May 2012 at 9:36 AM 26. RJ Ulbricht
Jeff,
You turned back the clock on me! My first and last Old Fashioned was back in 1971 in a small bar in Iowa. For all I knew at the time, it may have been made with Vodka and molassas. Thanks for letting me know it takes some skill and products.
05 Jun 2012 at 8:49 AM 27. MikeQ
Many years ago a veteran bartender named “Johnny La La” (yes, he was also a bookie) taught me to remove the peel from the orange before muddling. It peels off easily. Your site is a resource nonpareil. Adding you to my blogroll.
12 Jun 2012 at 7:02 PM 28. Federico Cuco
I make the OF, with cognac Remy Martin vs grand cru.
Really delicious. Thank you very much for your teaching, Mr. Morgenthaler.
Always a pleasure reading your blog.
Best from the far south
Federico Cuco
05 Jul 2012 at 5:54 PM 29. Cole
Not trying to put words in your mouth, but you may have meant “Considering the hundreds of thousands of cases they ship to Wisconsin every year, it might be considered SACRILEGIOUS to use anything else.” Sacrosanct means something that is sacred, and not to be altered under any circumstances. Enjoyed the article.
25 Jul 2012 at 8:31 AM 30. Christina
Hi Jeffrey, I just moved from WI to Portland, OR and you hit it on the spot about the brandy old fashioned. I look forward to visiting and trying yours out! :)
26 Jul 2012 at 8:28 PM 31. dominik mj
That doesn’t feel right for me… to call it Brandy Old Fashioned.
I am not so much against the recipe [sounds very good without the lemon-lime soda and maraschino cherries] – but we have educated so long and so enduring, that it seems plainly wrong to do this drink.
I would call it Old Fashioned Wisconsin or Wisconsin Brandy Fashioned [or similar].
The only difference to the “wrong” Old Fashioned method otherwise would be, that you would use proper ingredients and that you are preparing it with care.
Bourbon or Rye can even easier than brandy withstand some muddling of orange and cherry… and then you get again into the whole downward spiral…
29 Jul 2012 at 12:27 PM 32. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
Whether or not it feels right to you, Dominik, this is a drink enjoyed by millions of people in the state of Wisconsin, and has been for decades. Some things don’t need to be re-done, just done with as much care and attention as possible. And this version is a perfect example of that fact.
30 Jul 2012 at 7:18 AM 33. David Herpin
That’s unfair to say the old fashioned was lost after prohibition, because many drinks were. I assure you it wasn’t confused with the smash, unless you were the bartender I guess. You do mention it is closely associated with the julep, mad props bro; but the defining difference is not the fruit, it’s the vessel. Oh my, I was under the impression that many of this drinks mysteries were revealed. Okay, because you didn’t define what type of sugar I will assume you meant brown sugar, benefit of the doubt, just for you. You mention bitters but not what type, i’ll give that to you too. The maraschino cherry and orange are simple derivatives of maraschino and orange bitters, which I know you know. . .. I like the use of brandy in this drink, makes more historical sense. I like the choice of large cubes also, this is probably the ice that was used. Just when I started to not hate you so much, I scroll down to see a picture of mashed up goo in a glass, i’m sorry dude, i’m not even reading any more. I’m sure I could write a book on the many discrepancies this article surely contains, i’m not going to find out though. You’ll probably dismiss this and delete the comment and talk trash about me, that’s fine, atleast I know I don’t know anything. Good day, sir.
31 Jul 2012 at 2:11 PM 34. Donalbein
Another way my grandfather would make it was with Graf’s 50/50 soda which he called a sour. To this day it still brings back memories and I would not change how I make it.
31 Jul 2012 at 2:27 PM 35. Bull Garlington
Donalbein makes me think there’s an article idea for nostalgic cocktail recipes. Like, they might be “wrong” but they’re the way you learned it and you like it. Or your grandfather drank it that way. Or your dad.
31 Jul 2012 at 2:39 PM 36. dominik mj
@ Jeffrey:
That so many people are drinking one specific recipe, doesn’t make it necessary [conceptual] better.
80% of the “going out crowd” here in Dubai are drinking Bullfrogs [imagine a Long Island Iced Tea - with the "triple sec" exchanged with Blue Curaçao and the Coke substituted with Red Bull] – this are thousands and thousands of people – and yes, this is the most ordered mixed drinks here in the Middle East – and no, that doesn’t make it a little bit better [even a tweaked version is waste of time].
I would not compare the Brandy Old Fashioned Wisconsin’s style with a Bullfrog – but if you are taking the origin of the “Old Fashioned” – it is just wrong to muddle it [which is not old fashioned in the Jerry Thomas context].
I do understand, where you are coming from; but just have a different opinion about it. Millions of people are drinking this with cheap maraschino cherries and with commercial, HFCS loaded lemon-lime soda – if your argument justification would be right, you might not change it at all…
03 Aug 2012 at 8:55 PM 37. Don Grutz
Just returned from Baraboo Wisconsin visiting family and friends….Your recipe is spot on. We traveled 30 miles to the middle of nowhere to Cimarili’s Supper Club.
12 oz. glass filled with 2 oz brandy $2.50!!! $1 more if you ask for Makers Mark!
I had several each of our 4 visits.
Don
03 Aug 2012 at 9:33 PM 38. Jeffrey Morgenthaler
dominik – Keep in mind, this isn’t an “Old Fashioned”, it’s a Brandy Old Fashioned. The point of this post was to demonstrate that the Brandy Old Fashioned is now a completely different drink than the more historically accurate Old Fashioneds we’re serving these days. It’s become more than something a bunch of people drink in clubs, it’s officially its own drink and deserves to be treated with the cultural significance that generations of Wisconsonians have bestowed upon it.
03 Aug 2012 at 10:50 PM 39. dominik mj
Jeffrey – fortunately there are no absolutes in the bar; so you can have your opinion about it and I can have mine.
I actually see it like that: The Old Fashioned is an abbreviation to Old Fashioned Whiskey Cocktail. And in these days [Jerry Thomas days], categories rather than specific drinks stood in the foreground. And usually they were made very similar [most of the time, only the spirit was swapped].
I am sure, that not only Old Fashioned Whiskey cocktails where prepared and consumed in the mid 1800’s but also “really” Old Fashioned Brandy Cocktails.
The style of muddling something, was developed much much later – later than prohibition; I would estimate that it was not before the 60’s.
Don’t get me wrong – I know absolutely where you are coming from – but I see the subject more… globally and less regional.
You are pinpointing it on the cultural significance – I am rather concerned about the historic significant. Like mentioned, there isn’t right or wrong, I just choose “the no prisoners”way, as I know, that fine details are the first things, which are going lost.
You can count the minutes, that somebody will do a Maraschino cherry and full orange muddled Old Fashioned with crushed ice and call it legit.
02 Sep 2012 at 7:56 AM 40. Holly
Thank you for publishing this.
I recently returned from Appelton, WI, where the family of my future sister-in-law was marrying into didn’t drink much–except for sweet brandy old fashions, with an olive. I thought I knew a thing or two about cocktails, but shit. Keep learning, right? Great cocktail to have in your back pocket when the in-laws visit. Really loosens up the otherwise tight crowd.
02 Sep 2012 at 11:36 PM 41. Nikki
So much to take in.
12 Sep 2012 at 1:53 AM 42. Tully
Why not just peel the orange instead of muddling around it?
14 Sep 2012 at 9:20 PM 43. Wanda
I think that the Brandy version may have come from Norwegian or other Scandinavian settlers in Wisconsin. My relatives in Norway, are very familiar with the Brandy Old Fashioned. It was my father’s favorite drink. He often made it at home with brandy, usually Korbel, bitters, with the Maraschino cherries and some of their juice, plus sweet (7 Up). I preferred it sour, with Squirt, but that was probably because my first real drink was the Brandy Sour.
Typically, if you order Sweet, you get olives and if Sour, you get fruit.
20 Sep 2012 at 10:30 PM 44. Alex
I’ve recently been turned on to The Old Fashion Old Fashion. Everything the regular Old Fashion is with basil added. In this case I like to use Bourbon vs. Brandy.
27 Sep 2012 at 8:30 AM 45. Ryan
domink mj:
I’m coming to this thread a bit late, but check out this link:
http://www.quinnipiac.edu/other/ABL/etext/stagetavern/chp5.html
scroll down for the description of a “toddy stick”, a very important part of the pre-prohibition bartender’s kit.
14 Oct 2012 at 2:12 PM 46. Jeff from Chilton
I recently rediscovered the Old Fashion after moving from Wisconsin 30 years ago. I have been making them with 7 up because it was easy but have gone back to the way I used to make them with simple syrup and water. I just tried the crushed ice instead of water and I like this too. Brings back fond memories of my days in eastern Wisconsin. I’m enjoying one as I post this.
20 Nov 2012 at 3:58 PM 47. tony reser
Your narrative on the Wisconsin Brandy Old Fashioned is priceless. One of my best clients is from Wisconsin and, indeed, it is his favorite drink though he is mediocre bartender so he cheats and uses Jero Old Fashioned mix which is not available in Oregon. While your Brandy Old fashioned is a true representation of the Wisconsin variety I much prefer the Jeffrey Morganthaler Whiskey Old Fashioned which is not muddled, uses orange peel, and NO SPRITZER!
14 Jan 2013 at 12:15 AM 48. MBus
This is oddly similar to what I get when I ask for an old fashioned at random bars–except with brandy instead of whiskey.
17 Jan 2013 at 1:45 PM 49. DrinksMeister
perfect twist of an old classic cocktail>D
18 Jan 2013 at 10:00 AM 50. Dick Hikade
Just finished reading your article in the Oregonian. Looked up your website and was pleasantly surprized to see an article about my beloved state of Wisconsin and its signature drink the “Brandy” Old Fashion. I worked my way through Marquette Dental School bartending on weekends, making my share of Old Fashions. I remeber reading years ago that Wis. drinks more brandy than France and drinks 40% of the brandy in the U.S. When family and friends are over for the holidays it has become a tradition, they dont have a choice of beverages, they know and love being served the Old Fashion.
18 Jan 2013 at 1:23 PM 51. Tara
Having grown up in Wisconsin, this article made me laugh and brought back great memories all at the same time! I fondly remember neighbors making a brandy old fashion, Wisconsin style, throughout my childhood. And today, you can absolutely still go to a small town bar or a supper club and get yourself a fantastic brandy old fashion! Ahhh, it makes me nostalgic for home! Cheers!
02 Feb 2013 at 10:57 PM 52. Heide M.
I’ll have to try this.
08 Feb 2013 at 3:10 PM 53. Linda S
I’m born and raised Green Bay and old fashioneds are my drink of choice. Always a southern comfort old fashioned press, no fruit. And it must be muddled. Yum…looks like I’m stopping at the mart on the way home to make some…
25 Feb 2013 at 12:36 PM 54. Dave
Have lived is SE Wisconain all of our lives. My wife prefers hers like this.
4 (yes 4) oz Korbel.
4 dashes Angostora bitters
Hot Dilly bean and a queen size olive
5-6 oz 7up.
Combine all in a 16 oz. old fashioned glass and cram in as much ice as possible. Bigger the cubes the better.
Me, I like a Korbel Manhattan with Bianco vermouth….two to one.
28 Feb 2013 at 10:23 PM 55. Frank Elliott
The old fashioned is my favorite drink. Here’s my obscenely decadent version of a brandy old fashioned.
1 thick wedge of blood orange.
3 Amarena Fabbri cherries
1 tsp of simple syrup
2 oz of armagnac (I like Cles des Ducs)
Ice to fill the glass
a shot of seltzer
2 dashes orange bitters
Of course, changing the bitters in a brandy old fashioned from Angostura to Peychaud makes it a brandy Sazerac. So New Orleans has prior art. ;-)
01 Mar 2013 at 5:42 PM 56. Chris
To all My People in Wisconsin, and Elsewhere reading this….Try it with Presidente Brandy….I Live in Washington State now, but was able to find it in Mukwanago this Thanksgiving while visiting the inlaws. so if you live in a metropolitan area it shouldn’t be too hard! It makes the Old Fashioned sublime. My dad always used Korbel, so I did too! It’s only a couple bucks more a bottle but it is worth it. Like JM says, “you get out of it what you put in too it….I add a cinammon stick too,
20 Mar 2013 at 8:39 PM 57. Jake
Like many other commenters, I grew up in the far north of Wisconsin and the Brandy Old Fashioned is my favorite drink, sour with 50/50 (I think Squirt is a bit too sweet but to each their own). Still, I think it is awesome to see this drink outside of Wisconsin. Concerning Jero mix, if you go to a bar/restaurant/supper club north of Green Bay, you almost never see any one not use some kind of Old Fashioned mix. I’m not saying this recipe is wrong by any means- I can’t wait to try it- but you’d be hard pressed to be served an Old Fashioned like this one in a small bar or supper club. And like others have said, this is most certainly not like more traditional Old Fashioneds, this is as Wisconsin as cheese and the Packers.