The Wandering Old Fashioned

Ingredients

• 60 ml Wandering Rye Whisky
• 10 ml demerara syrup
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• 1 dash orange bitters
• large clear ice cube

Method

Stir. Serve in a Rocks glass (large). Garnish with Orange twist + brandied cherry.

Demerara syrup: 2:1 demerara sugar to hot water, stir until dissolved, cool.

The story

The Old Fashioned is the oldest template in cocktails — spirit, sweetener, bitters, dilution. That's it. Jerry Thomas documented versions of the whiskey cocktail in his 1862 guide, though the name 'Old Fashioned' came later as a protest against bartenders' tendency to complicate what was already perfect. Wandering Rye brings extraordinary depth to this template. The 5-year rye contributes spice and grain energy; the two 18-year corn whiskies bring caramel, vanilla, and a long, slow sweetness. Against a backdrop of rich demerara syrup and Angostura bitters, this is an Old Fashioned that has genuinely aged into the wisdom its form promises. The orange twist is the only flourish it needs.

Tasting note

The deepest amber in this book. The nose is orange oil, vanilla, and toasted grain. The palate is a slow conversation between rye spice and corn sweetness, with bitterness serving as punctuation. This drink doesn't hurry.