American · Buffalo Trace
Buffalo Trace Old Fashioned
Buffalo Trace is the bottle most bartenders reach for when somebody orders an old fashioned and does not name a brand. It is low rye, which makes it sweet and round rather than peppery.
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Takes 4mMakes 1 drinkGlass Rocks glass, one large cube
Ingredients
- Buffalo Trace Bourbon 750ml
- 1 sugar cube, or 1 tsp simple syrup
- 2 to 3 dashes aromatic bitters
- 1 strip orange peel
- 1 large ice cube
Method
- Put the sugar cube in the glass and soak it with the bitters. Add a splash of water and crush it to a paste.
- Add the bourbon and one large ice cube.
- Stir for about thirty seconds. You are chilling it and adding a little water at the same time, and both matter.
- Squeeze the orange peel over the glass so the oil sprays across the surface, then drop it in.
The one thing that matters
That roundness is why it suits the drink. There is caramel and vanilla already in the whiskey, so you need less sugar. Half a cube is often enough.
Questions
Is Buffalo Trace good for an old fashioned?
It is close to the default answer. Low rye means sweet and round, which suits a drink built on sugar and bitters. Use a little less sugar than the recipe says, because the whiskey brings its own.
How much bourbon goes in an old fashioned?
Two ounces. Any less and the sugar and bitters take over; any more and there is not enough dilution from the stirring to soften it.