I was always partial to Wild Turkey 101 in my Old Fasioned and Manhattans. Good flavor and the higher proof holds up well in those drinks. I also liked Elijah Craig and Maker's Mark and Evan Williams for a cheap option.
Best Bourbon For An Old Fashion?
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Belle Meade Cask Strength Reserve!
I'm partial to Old Fashioned drinks and easily Jim Beam Black takes top billing for me with a nod to Maker's Mark and Wild Turkey 101.
I would go with Old Grandad Bonded. It's a high rye mashbill, so you get some of the spiciness of rye, but plenty of typical bourbon flavors. It's great on the rocks as well and affordable too.
The Old Fashioned is an interesting cocktail, particularly because there are so many variations that have strong traditions of their own, such as the upper-midwestern Brandy Old Fashioned with pineapple juice and Sprite, which is nice for dessert, but not when you want a good strong drink.
For a Bourbon Old Fashioned, I prefer the classic recipe of booze, a small amount of simple syrup, and plenty of bitters. I think saying "any bourbon will do" is too simple. The whiskey in a Bourbon Old Fashioned is such a large portion of the drink that using a really mediocre "well" bourbon is going to result in a mediocre drink. So I'd suggest at least moving up to a 20 dollar bottle. Wild Turkey 101 is probably the best choice and best value in this category, but Buffalo Trace (if you can find it) is another great choice at this price point, and both will make an excellent Old Fashioned.
My personal preference for an Old Fashioned is to use Rye, and Bulleit, Templeton, and High West Double-Rye are my go-to mixing Ryes (they're also all great by themselves, but they aren't quite high zoot enough that you'll feel guilty using them in cocktails).
For a Bourbon Old Fashioned, I prefer the classic recipe of booze, a small amount of simple syrup, and plenty of bitters. I think saying "any bourbon will do" is too simple. The whiskey in a Bourbon Old Fashioned is such a large portion of the drink that using a really mediocre "well" bourbon is going to result in a mediocre drink. So I'd suggest at least moving up to a 20 dollar bottle. Wild Turkey 101 is probably the best choice and best value in this category, but Buffalo Trace (if you can find it) is another great choice at this price point, and both will make an excellent Old Fashioned.
My personal preference for an Old Fashioned is to use Rye, and Bulleit, Templeton, and High West Double-Rye are my go-to mixing Ryes (they're also all great by themselves, but they aren't quite high zoot enough that you'll feel guilty using them in cocktails).
I don't want much mixed with bourbon, maybe a little branch water and bergs. If it is well blended, it has all the personality it needs.
I agree. Though an old fashioned doesn't step on it too much. It's amazing how much cocktails are like aromatics. Some really just help the liquor or tobacco taste a bit more and some make you wonder why someone is drinking or smoking if they don't like the stuff.
I hear you. A great bourbon should be had neat. I don’t even want ice in mine. But an Old Fashioned, properly done, doesn’t crowd the bourbon too much. I’d never waste a nice single barrel on one, or even a higher end blended, but I always considered it a fine cocktail for a $20-$30 bottle. It was one of a very few cocktails that I ever really cared for. The others being the Mint Julep, the Bloody Mary, the Martini (a real one with gin, none of that vodkatini mess ?), the Negroni, and if you count beer cocktails, then the Michelada (both varieties).
Buffalo Trace is my favorite for an Old Fashion and I'll second the Luxardo cherries. I also prefer simple syrup over sugar cubes.
I’ve got no qualms using really high quality stuff in cocktails. I like to think of it as the better ingredients you use the better the drink is. A cocktail is its own thing, a sum of parts. You’re not “wasting” wagyu by making it into a burger you’re just making a really kick ass burger, that being said you should probably get matching quality ingredients to go with that, fresh lettuce, high quality bacon... I’m not drooling...
I’ve found that the subtleties and complexities of high quality alcohol can lend those to a well blended cocktail and really make something special.
+1 for Luxardo cherrys or Amarena cherrys. Though I usually only use them for Manhattans.
My old fashion is typically two sugar cubes, three dashes of bitters, and a orange twist, I like to use cara cara oranges if I can find them. Muddle all of that, add 3oz of bourbon and large ice cube give a quick stir, done. Works pretty well with any bourbon and using the same recipe with different bourbons has been a fun way to see how the bourbon it’s self changes the drink.
I’ve found that the subtleties and complexities of high quality alcohol can lend those to a well blended cocktail and really make something special.
+1 for Luxardo cherrys or Amarena cherrys. Though I usually only use them for Manhattans.
My old fashion is typically two sugar cubes, three dashes of bitters, and a orange twist, I like to use cara cara oranges if I can find them. Muddle all of that, add 3oz of bourbon and large ice cube give a quick stir, done. Works pretty well with any bourbon and using the same recipe with different bourbons has been a fun way to see how the bourbon it’s self changes the drink.
This right here. There are a number of very high quality and complex mixers on the market today that can mix with an excellent whiskey (or gin...get the vodka away from me) to equal more than the sum of their parts. Good cocktails can contain a balance of the five universal flavors, sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami. Also, that's about the same as my old fashioned recipe. My current favorite cocktail recipe, however, is: 3 parts Rye, 1 part Fernet-Branca, and 1/2 part Benedictine. It doesn't even need bitters. Just a great combo of sweet, spicy, herbal, and bitter.
My go to is Old Forester Rye for Manhattans (with 50/50 mixture of Vya sweet and extra dry vermouths and homemade Maraschino cherries) and Old Fashioneds; Evan Williams Bottled-in-Bond for bourbon and Coke; Henry KcKenna Bottled-in-Bond Single Barrel for enjoying straight.
It baffles me that some folk lash out good money for quality bourbon or scotch only to mix it with some sweet crap bought in the supermarket.
If to be used as a mixer then surely the cheapest spirit available would do the trick no?
Regards,
Jay.?
If to be used as a mixer then surely the cheapest spirit available would do the trick no?
Regards,
Jay.?
It’s not as expensive over here. Well, the Bourbon isn’t. Scotch is another story.
I’m simple, I don’t tell people, not that you are, how to drink or what to drink.
If they want ice, syrup or whatever. It’s theirs.
My way isn’t the only way.
Like some others have mentioned, there’s another way to look at it.
I used to only see my glass of neat bourbon beneath the same nose I’d use to look down on people mixing quality bourbon into cocktails.
And then I understood the error of my ways.
@lightxmyfire has summed up my perspective very well with his post above. I don’t think a cocktail is wasting good bourbon. Rather, it’s improving a shitty cocktail. If you go through the time and process of making a solid Old Fashioned, why would you pour dump truck bourbon in it?
We like higher end bourbons because of the flavors and complexities that they offer. Why wouldn’t we impart those on our cocktails, as well? To be sure, there’s no right way or wrong way to enjoy bourbon, but the idea that higher quality commands a neat drink is absent-minded at best.
Consider drinking them neat. Would you prefer a higher end bourbon over a sub-$15 bottle? More than likely. In a drink like an Old Fashioned, where the bourbon flavor and aroma is so pervasive, imagine how much it’s improved by using a quality whiskey. I suppose you don’t really have to, you can just factor in the enjoyment delta from your side by side neat comparison you just did.
Think I’ll go make one right now with the rest of this bottle of Stagg Jr. I’ve got taking up space. A bit of the hair of the dog, if you will.
Very well said. I ended up going with Knob Creek and I 100% agree, a better bourbon makes a better drink regardless of if it is mixed or straight up. I will try other, because I like to try new things, but to say that the cheapest will do in a mixed drink, I say nay to you sir... quality is quality is quality. You want a quality mixed drink, start with quality liquor. CAN I GET AN AMEN!!!!
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