Old Fashioned

Ingredients

• 2 oz bourbon or rye
• 1 tsp demerara simple syrup (or ½ tsp sugar)
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• Lemon or orange peel

Method

Stir with ice until well chilled (~30 seconds). Strain over a large ice cube. Express peel over the glass and drop in or discard.

Variations

Vanilla lift — use vanilla bean paste stirred into the syrup, or a small rinse of vanilla liqueur instead of plain syrup. Rounds out the sweetness.

Bénédictine OF — swap the simple syrup for ¼–½ oz Bénédictine. Adds herbal depth; use less than you think.