Brown Sugar Old Fashioned
Bourbon, a spoon of brown sugar muddled with bitters and a splash of water, stirred over a big rock. The Old Fashioned with molasses in the sugar — darker and rounder than the white-sugar classic.
Built to the standard modern spec; not yet tested in our kitchen. How we test.
The recipe.
Scaling adjusts quantities only. Prepare shaken drinks in individual portions.
Let’s make a good drink.
Put the brown sugar, bitters and a barspoon of water in a rocks glass and muddle until the sugar dissolves.
Add the bourbon and a large ice cube.
Stir for 20 seconds until cold and lightly diluted.
Express an orange peel over the drink and drop it in.
A thoughtful finish
- Dissolve the sugar fully; grit at the bottom is the usual fault.
- A brown-sugar syrup (equal brown sugar and water) is quicker and cleaner.
- Dark brown sugar for more molasses; demerara for a lighter caramel.
Common mistakes
- Undissolved sugar.
- Too much sugar; a teaspoon is plenty.
- Muddled fruit and a cherry, which is a different drink.
A few good questions.
What does a Brown Sugar Old Fashioned taste like?
An Old Fashioned with caramel and molasses — darker, rounder and a little richer.
Brown sugar or demerara?
Dark brown for molasses; demerara or turbinado for a lighter caramel.
Syrup or sugar?
A syrup dissolves instantly; the sugar needs muddling with water.
Rye or bourbon?
Bourbon; its sweetness suits the brown sugar.
Variations
- Old Fashioned — Whiskey, sugar and bitters.
- Maple Old Fashioned — Bourbon, maple and bitters.
- Fig Old Fashioned — Bourbon, fig syrup and bitters.
- Demerara Rum Old Fashioned — Demerara rum, sugar and bitters.
Where it comes from
c. 1900s · United States
The Old Fashioned’s sugar was whatever the bar had — a cube of white, a spoon of raw, a splash of gum syrup — and brown sugar has been in the drink since the nineteenth century, when it was cheaper than white; it came back as a deliberate choice with the craft revival, which prefers demerara and turbinado for the molasses they bring. A Brown Sugar Old Fashioned is simply the classic made with brown sugar (or a brown-sugar syrup) in place of the cube, which gives it caramel and a darker colour and suits a wheated or high-corn bourbon. It is the base for a dozen autumn variations — maple, fig, cinnamon — and better than most of them on its own.
Sources
- Robert Simonson, The Old-Fashioned, 2014 (book)
- Difford's Guide, Brown Sugar Old Fashioned, 2012 (reference)
- David Wondrich, Imbibe!, 2015 (book)
Strength. About 1.54 US standard drinks at an estimated 32.2% ABV, estimated from the ingredients and technique, not measured. What that means.
A little character in every sip.
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