The Ultimate Smoked Old Fashioned Cocktail Recipe

If you’re a fan of an Old Fashioned and you haven’t tried a Smoked Old Fashioned…what are you doing? Old Fashioneds are normally made of whiskey, sugar, and bitters. While delicious on it’s own, the smoked version brings a contemporary twist to the conventional Old Fashioned recipe. Keep reading to learn how to make it.

How to Make a Normal Old Fashioned

At its core, the classic Old Fashioned is a symphony of four essential ingredients:

• Whiskey: The spirit is the foundation, usually a high-quality bourbon or rye, offering a rich and robust profile that will stand up to the smoky notes introduced later.
• Sugar: A small amount, typically a sugar cube or simple syrup, counters the whiskey’s bite and enhances its inherent sweetness.
• Bitters: Angostura bitters are the traditional choice, providing a complex blend of herbs and spices that add depth and balance to the drink. I like to add orange bitters to mine for more depth.

What Makes It “Smoked”?

A smoked Old Fashioned gets its smoky flavor through a process called “smoking” or “smoking the glass.” This technique involves infusing the cocktail with a smoky aroma and taste, usually by exposing the drink to smoke from wood chips, herbs, or other aromatic elements.

Typically, the process goes like this: after preparing the Old Fashioned cocktail in a cocktail shaker, the bartender or mixologist places a glass over a smoldering wood chip or herb bundle. As the smoke swirls inside the glass, it imparts a rich, smoky essence to the drink, enhancing its flavor profile and adding a layer of complexity.

The type of wood or herbs used for smoking can vary, with options like oak, hickory, applewood, or even rosemary or thyme, each lending its unique flavor notes to the cocktail. The result is a delightfully nuanced Old Fashioned with a hint of smokiness that elevates the drinking experience.

Tools You Will Need

To construct the ultimate smoked old-fashioned, a range of tools is essential to achieve the perfect balance of flavor and presentation. Here’s what you’ll need to create this sophisticated cocktail:

• Cocktail smoker: This device will infuse the drink with a smoky flavor. Ensure it’s clean and ready to use, with a small chamber for wood chips.
• Wood chips: You’ll ignite these chips to produce the smoke that enriches the cocktail. Choose from hickory, applewood, oak, or cherry varieties to complement your whiskey choice.
• Cocktail Muddler: A bartending tool used to crush or mash ingredients to release their flavors and incorporate them into cocktails.
• Old Fashioned glass: A sturdy, short tumbler, traditionally used for serving an old-fashioned cocktail, provides the ideal vessel for preparing and enjoying the cocktail.
• Bar spoon: A long-handled spoon is necessary for stirring the ingredients and chilling the mixture without over-diluting it.
• Jigger: Precision is key in cocktail crafting, and a jigger helps measure the amount of whiskey and water required for balance.
• Ice: Large ice cubes or spheres are best as they melt more slowly, minimizing dilution while keeping the cocktail cold.
• Garnish: A citrus peel or cocktail cherry garners the drink, adding an aromatic finish that can absorb some of the smokiness.
• Lighter or match:  You’ll need a flame source to ignite the wood chips in the cocktail smoker.

Step-by-Step Smoked Old Fashioned Recipe

To craft the ultimate smoked old-fashioned, follow these steps:

1. Muddle the Sugar and Bitters:
   • Put a sugar cube in a glass.
   • Add a few dashes of Angostura bitters.
   • Use a muddler to crush the sugar cube and bitters until the sugar is mostly dissolved.
2. Add the whiskey:
   • Pour in 2 ounces of whiskey.
3. Add ice and stir:
   • Fill the glass with ice.
   • Stir gently with a bar spoon for about 30 seconds.
4. Prepare the smoker:
   1. Set up your cocktail smoker with wood chips.
5. Smoke the cocktail:
   • Light the wood chips with a lighter or match.
   • Place the smoking chamber over the glass to trap the smoke.
   • Let the smoke infuse for about 1 minute.
6. Finish the drink:
   • Remove the smoking chamber.
   • Garnish with a twist of orange peel or a cocktail cherry.

Conclusion

To perfect the smoked old-fashioned, it’s important to consider the intricate balance of flavors and the multi-sensory experience it provides. Using a cocktail smoker is not simply a novelty—it’s a means to unlock new dimensions of aroma and taste within a familiar classic. The right combination of quality whiskey, the subtlety of sugar, the complexity of bitters, and the type of wood chips chosen all play pivotal roles in the creation of this cocktail.