Old Fashioned cocktails have been around since the 1800s — not nearly as long as cider — but delicious nonetheless. We put a Taste of Treehorn spin on this classic cocktail, the fact is that bourbon and cider belong together. The lightly sweet fruitiness of Treehorn Dry, with a dash of bitters and a second layer of apple with orchard syrup, melds well with the bold bourbon in this cocktail. Add in the tart pickled cranberries for garnish, and it's a win in a lowball glass.
Old-Fashioned Belle
2 oz. Treehorn Dry Cider
1.5 oz Four Roses Bourbon
0.5 oz Highbank Orchards Orchard Syrup
Dash Peychaud's Bitter
Garnish: Three cider-pickled cranberries on a toothpick
In mixing glass, combine everything besides garnish over ice and shake or stir vigorously. Strain into an old-fashioned/lowball glass with a large cocktail ice cube and garnish.
A note on ingredients: see what we did there with the pickled cranberries??? Our holiday recipe series is all about giving you simple recipes to use in multiple ways; holidays are meant to share over a glass with friends and family, not slave in the kitchen to have the perfect photo-ready meal.
Four Roses Bourbon yellow label is a staple in our home liquor cabinet — high quality and not super expensive. Legend has it that the founder of Four Roses had his marriage proposal accepted by the belle of the ball wearing a four-rose corsage to a dance.
You can substitute a simple syrup for the apple orchard syrup. Highbank Orchards is run by a lovely couple that we visited in 2016 in Kilkenny, Ireland. Their organic orchard syrup adds another layer of apple in the cocktail. Stateside, you can order online from Wood's Cider Mill syrup and Carr's Ciderhouse apple syrup. And always check with your local orchard to see if they have one available, many smaller orchards, like Kordick Family Farms, make excellent options!
Recipe inspired by Apple Dumpling cocktail by The Ballantyne House (Charlotte) in Town & Country magazine.