Cold Brew Old Fashioned

The Old Fashioned is one of my favorite drinks, primarily because I love how flexible the recipe can be. It really boils down to 3-4 components: spirit, sugar, bitters, and garnish. You can make infinite versions just by changing the bourbon or rye you use, experimenting with different sugars or infused syrups, swapping out the flavor of bitters, and so on. Something I had never considered adding to my Old Fashioned ingredients list was coffee liqueur, but I'm glad I did. 

When I was experimenting with this recipe, I shared it with a few friends who are kind enough to be my guinea pigs to get their opinion (it's a tough job). The first impression that they gave was that this would make an amazing brunch cocktail. While I completely agree, I think that personally I would enjoy this drink the most around happy hour. I could really use that jolt of caffeine around 5PM when I start to feel the weight of the day set in, especially in the winter when it's dark by that time. This drink would guarantee that I made it to a bedtime that I wouldn't be embarrassed to share. 

I love the balance between the rich, earthy flavors of the coffee and the caramel and oak notes from the whiskey. The black walnut bitters really just ties those flavors together, but truthfully you could try this with other types of bitters. The lemon adds a final touch of brightness to counterbalance the dark, earthy notes from the coffee and whiskey. 

Whatever time of day you choose to drink this, I hope you enjoy it! 

Cold Brew Old Fashioned
Makes 1 drink

Ingredients

• 1.5 oz. bourbon or rye
• 1 oz. Mr. Black Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur 
• Black walnut bitters 
• Lemon peel or twist
  
  

Instructions

1 Pour the bourbon and coffee liqueur into a cocktail mixing glass, then add 3 dashes of the bitters

2 Add ice and stir with a bar spoon until the mixing glass is chilled

3 Fill a rocks glass with ice, either one large cube or several smaller cubes, then strain the mixture into the rocks glass

4 Run the lemon peel around the rim of the rocks glass, then drop it in the glass for garnish

You can also check out our Drink More Bourbon Cocktails video where we walk you through making this drink, as well as our Kentucky Cold Brew & Cream recipe.

Did you make this recipe? Let us know! 

Tag @whiskeyambitions and @itsbourbonnight on Instagram.


Sara Ahlgrim 
Co-founder of It's Bourbon Night & Whiskey Ambitions