Bourbon
Smoked Maple Old Fashioned
A stirred bourbon cocktail that trades simple syrup for cold-smoked maple and adds aromatic depth with two bitters. Winter in a glass.
Ingredients
- 2 oz Bourbon — Woodford Reserve or a wheated mash preferred
- ¼ oz Cold-smoked Maple Syrup — see smoking note below
- 2 Dashes Angostura Bitters
- 1 Dash orange bitters
Method
- Place a large single ice cube in a double rocks glass and set aside to chill while you build.
- Combine bourbon, smoked maple syrup, and both bitters in a mixing glass.
- Add ice and stir for 20–25 seconds; this drink benefits from minimal dilution.
- Strain over the large ice cube in the chilled glass.
- Hold an orange peel skin-side down over the glass and squeeze firmly to express the oils across the surface.
- Run the peel along the rim of the glass and place it on top alongside a cocktail cherry.
Notes
Garnish
Expressed orange peel, smoked cocktail cherry
Tasting Notes
Rich vanilla-oak from the bourbon, dark caramel from the maple, and a subtle campfire smoke note that lifts through the finish. The two bitters add herbal and orange-peel complexity.
The History
The Old Fashioned may be the oldest named cocktail in the American canon, or at least the one closest to the original definition of the word. In 1806, a New York newspaper defined a “cock-tail” as a stimulating liquor composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water, and bitters. That is, functionally, an Old Fashioned.
The specific name emerged in the late 19th century as a reaction to bartending fashion. As bartenders increasingly elaborated whiskey drinks with fruit juices, liqueurs, and fizz, a faction of drinkers began asking for their bourbon or rye “in the old-fashioned way”: spirit, sweetener, bitters, nothing else. The Pendennis Club in Louisville is often cited as the location where this request crystallized into a named drink, and Colonel James E. Pepper, a Kentucky bourbon distiller, is credited with spreading it to the Waldorf-Astoria bar in New York.
The template works with any spirit worth drinking slowly: rye, bourbon, rum, tequila, mezcal. Every variation since, including this one, is still measured against the same brief: let the spirit lead, use the sugar to soften it, the bitters to frame it, and the ice to pace it.
The Riff
The Old Fashioned is the oldest named cocktail in the American canon: spirit, sugar, bitters, water. This version preserves the template but replaces plain simple syrup with cold-smoked maple, which introduces a wood-smoke character that echoes the char on the bourbon barrel.
Cold-Smoking Maple Syrup
You don’t need a smoker. The simplest method: place a small dish of maple syrup inside a large covered pot or Dutch oven. Burn a small amount of wood chips (apple, cherry, or hickory) in a heat-safe cup within the same pot. Seal and cold-smoke for 20–30 minutes. The syrup will absorb smoke without heating. Bottle and refrigerate for up to four weeks.
On the Ice
A single large cube (2-inch square) melts slowly and dilutes evenly. It also provides a visually clean presentation that works well for photography. Ice cube molds are a $15 investment that changes every stirred drink you make.
Variation: Rye Swap
Substitute a high-rye whiskey (Rittenhouse, Bulleit Rye) for the bourbon. Rye reads spicier and drier against the maple, producing a more assertive drink. Reduce maple to 1 barspoon if you want a drier profile.
Scaling for a Crowd
This is an easy drink to batch because it is stirred, spirit-forward, and free of citrus or carbonation.
For four drinks:
- 8 oz bourbon
- 1 oz cold-smoked maple syrup
- 8 dashes Angostura bitters
- 4 dashes orange bitters
Combine everything in a bottle and chill well. To serve, pour about 2 1/4 oz per drink into a mixing glass with ice, stir until cold, then strain over a large cube. Finish each glass with a fresh orange peel and, if you like, a smoked cocktail cherry.
House Note
Choose a bourbon with enough proof and oak structure to stand up to the maple. A bottle in the 90 to 100 proof range is a strong starting point. If the drink reads too sweet, reduce the maple slightly or switch to rye. If it reads too smoky, shorten the cold-smoking time the next round rather than changing the whole build.