How to garnish an old fashioned
An old fashioned has three ingredients and a garnish, so the garnish matters more than it does in almost any other drink. Get the orange peel right and the drink smells like a good bar before you take a sip. Here's how to do it, plus the cherry question, the smoke question, and what to do when you're making eight at once.
The orange peel
This is the garnish. Cut a wide strip of peel from a fresh orange with a vegetable peeler, taking as little of the white pith as you can. Hold it skin-side down an inch or two above the drink and give it a firm pinch so the oils spray across the surface. You'll see a little shimmer on top of the whiskey. Rub the peel around the rim, then drop it in or hang it on the edge of the glass.
Some bartenders flame the peel: hold a lit match between the peel and the glass and squeeze so the oils flash through the flame. It's a nice bit of theater and it adds a faintly toasted note. It's not necessary, but if you're making one drink for someone you like, do it.
If you'd rather not cut peel for every drink, an orange cocktail pick gives you the visual with none of the knife work, and it's the one we reach for when we're batching a pitcher for a party.
The cherry
Skip the neon maraschino from the jar. Luxardo or Amarena cherries are dark, syrupy and taste like actual fruit. One cherry, maybe two, on a pick laid across the rim or dropped in the glass. If you're doing both cherry and orange, thread the cherry onto a pick and hang the peel separately so the drink doesn't look crowded. Our cherry cocktail picks have a little cherry-and-bow topper that looks great in a rocks glass, especially for a girls' night or a bachelorette where the old fashioned is the signature drink.
Sugar or syrup
Not a garnish, but it affects the look. A muddled sugar cube leaves flecks in the glass; simple syrup or demerara syrup keeps it clear. Both are correct. If you're going for the classic look, a sugar cube soaked in bitters and muddled in the glass is the original.
Ice
One large cube or sphere. It melts slower, keeps the drink cold without watering it down, and looks the part. If you don't have a large-cube tray, a handful of regular cubes is fine, but the single big cube is the difference between a drink that looks like a home pour and one that looks like a bar pour.
Variations and how to garnish them
Smoked old fashioned: a pinch of wood chips lit under a cloche, or a smoked cinnamon stick laid across the glass. The garnish is the smoke; keep the peel simple. Maple old fashioned: swap the syrup for maple, garnish with orange and a cinnamon stick. Perfect for fall, and our fall cocktail picks with pumpkin and leaf toppers finish it. Bourbon and cherry for a holiday party: a gingerbread pick or a Christmas tree pick holding the cherry says December without a word. Rum old fashioned: an orange peel and a dash of allspice. Mezcal old fashioned: grapefruit peel instead of orange.
Themed old fashioneds
The old fashioned is the go-to whiskey drink for themed parties, and the pick is the easiest way to tie it in. A Derby party or a country wedding gets our western cowboy picks, with hats, boots and horseshoes. A casino night or poker party gets the casino picks with card suits. Game day gets the football picks. A Halloween or dark-and-moody party gets the skull picks in a smoked version. Same drink, five different parties.
Making a round
For a party, batch the whiskey, syrup and bitters in a bottle (two ounces whiskey, a quarter ounce syrup, two dashes bitters per drink) and keep it in the fridge. Cut orange peels ahead and store them in a sealed container with a damp paper towel. When guests arrive, pour over a big cube, express a peel, add a cherry on a pick. Thirty seconds a drink. Plan on two picks per guest for the evening, and a set of 25 or 50 covers most dinner parties with spares.
Keep reading: espresso martini garnishes, our martini garnish guide, and Halloween cocktail garnish ideas. Or browse every design in the cocktail picks collection.
