I’ve had a few old fashioneds that I really loved, but most that I’ve been served at bars taste a bit too flammable for me to enjoy more than a few sips. This Brown Butter Old Fashioned is one of my favorite variations to make at home. Fat washing bourbon with brown butter mellows out the liquor, and swapping in maple syrup for sugar adds extra depth and flavor.
This cocktail is also easy to batch prep and leave in the fridge for a party or whenever you want to savor a glass. You will need to prepare the bourbon the day before you want to enjoy an old fashioned. Be sure to pick a bourbon that’s nice enough to enjoy on its own, since it’s the star player here. Although I’ll happily drink this cocktail any time of year, but it seems particularly appropriate as the leaves turn brown and the rain sets in…
A slight riff on this old fashioned recipe from Serious Eats.
Ingredients
Makes a whole bottle of brown butter bourbon to do with as you please.
- 1 750 ml bottom of bourbon
- 1 stick of unsalted butter
- 11 tsp maple syrup
- 22-23 dashes cardamon (or other) bitters
- Luxardo cherries and/or orange peel to garnish
To prepare the bourbon:
In a small saucepan, brown the butter. Transfer immediately to a large heatproof container with a lid (for later), and let cool until no longer hot, but still liquid. Measure out 2 3/4 cups (22 oz) of the bourbon and mix with the butter and seal with the lid. What remains in the bottle you can find another use for–store it in something else, and save the bourbon bottle for later. Let the bourbon/butter mixture sit on the counter for 2-4 hours. Place in the freezer and freeze for about 24 hours.
The next day, scoop out the butter solids, and then strain the mixture back into the empty bourbon bottle using a pour over coffee filter, or a funnel lined with cheesecloth. Reserve the butter solids for another cooking project–they’re excellent to bake with!
To mix the cocktail:
Decision time! If you’d like to batch an entire bottle of brown butter old fashioneds at once, add the bitters and maple syrup to the bottle, shake well, and store in the fridge or freezer until ready to use. Pour about 2 oz per glass over a big ice cube, and garnish as desired.
If you’d like to keep the brown butter bourbon in the fridge on it’s own for now, you can mix up each drink individually as needed. Just add 2 oz of bourbon to a glass, a tsp of maple syrup, and 2-3 dashes of bitters. Stir it up, throw in a big ice cube, and garnish as desired.