I love a good Old Fashioned. It’s a pretty simple drink in that it doesn’t involve many ingredients. But it still ends up tasting complex. I also love drinks that have a cherry, as it’s like getting a mini dessert with your drink. But I don’t tend to order too many overly sweet drinks, so an Old Fashioned is right up my alley.
This version is not too far off from the classic because how can you truly improve upon such a great drink? But two minor tweaks add some fun flavors, and one doubles as a kind of party trick if you are making these for guests and want to impress them.
I say any cocktail that involves a little bit of fire is always fun in my book. 🙂
Smoke and Cinnamon Old Fashioned, makes one
1 teaspoon simple syrup or super fine sugar
2 dashes bitters
1.5 oz rye or bourbon whiskey
a splash of water
orange peel
1 Luxardo cherry
1 cinnamon stick
cedar board + kitchen torch
ice
First use the kitchen torch to burn the cedar board, and then place a cocktail glass immediately over the board, trapping in the smoke.
In the glass, combine the simple syrup (or sugar) and bitters. Give that a few quick stirs. Fold and squeeze the orange peel over the drink, then lightly rub the edges of the glass with the peel before adding it to the glass. Add the ice (I love a big ice cube here) and pour in the whiskey and a splash of water. Garnish with a cinnamon stick and a cherry.
Just a couple of notes:
-You can use any maraschino cherry, but I do recommend seeking out Luxardo cherries (available online if you can’t find them in stores near you) as they are SOOOO good and really elevate at-home cocktail making.
-You can buy cedar boards usually in the grilling section of stores or online. You can use other boards as well, just make sure they haven’t been treated or coated with anything that you would not want to eat.
Cheers! xo. Emma
Credits // Author and Photography: Emma Chapman. Photos edited with the NEW A Beautiful Mess actions.Â
19 Comments
Oh heck yeah, that looks amaaazing.
http://objectsicantafford.com
This drink looks so good! I’m assuming the splash of water goes in the drink?
Yes. Add a bit of text to make that more obvious. Thanks for bringing that to my attention!
-Emma
looks delicious, can’t wait to try it, we have been loving making cocktails recently, especially a classic daquiri
http://www.hopepostkids.com
I love those coasters! do you know where they’re from?
Hmm. I don’t remember, I’ve had them a while now and I think they may have come from the studio house when we moved (so I didn’t purchase them myself I don’t think).
But I *think* they are from either Hobby Lobby or Michael’s. Or possibly Marshall’s. Sorry!
-Emma
I unashamedly love maraschino cherries. This sounds so good!
http://www.wonderlandsam.com
That sounds ridiculously amazing and very warming for this time of year!
Classy and delicious! A+ recipe
I don’t really drink, but my friends love whisky! Would be a lovely surprise to make this for them!
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
That’s an interesting method with the smoke, I wonder how it tastes like!
https://www.makeandmess.com/
I love an old fashioned, its tied with a manhattan as my favourite cocktail! Love the addition of smoke, I gave my boyfriend a cookbook for Christmas which had a smilier idea but the execution was very complicated – atomisers and things were involved but this looks a bit easier!
http://victoriaspongepeasepudding.com
Awww this reminds me of my grandfather! He loved his old fashions and was quite picky about how they were made. Love the idea of using smoke! So fancy!
x0x0 Caroline http://thecarolove.com/
This looks really good! http://www.likehanna.com
How much can you actually taste the smoke in the drink? Does it actually make a difference?
I would say it’s similar to how much you can taste the orange when you rub the rind along the top of the glass. It’s subtle, not overpowering, but you can taste it. The thing you will taste most in pretty much all Old Fashioned’s is the rye or bourbon whiskey you choose, so be sure to pick something you enjoy the taste of on it’s own.
Hope that helps!
-Emma
Love this! Always looking for an easy way to make my parties seem fancier than they actually are. 🙂
Looks delicious! Quick question, and sorry if I’m missing it, but how long do you leave the glass trapping the smoke for? Just a couple of seconds? A minute? Does it not matter?
Amazing! I’m just learning how to make cocktails at home and adding smoke is going to be my next addition! Thank you!