Just Another F***ing Old Fashioned

Jeremy Nivern, Manager of Scandal Ponsonby, and all-round good-time booze connoisseur, takes us through his spin on the classic cocktail.

 

Ingredients
40mls Woodford Reserve
10mls Crème de Cacao
10mls Cointreau
7.5mls Sugar Syrup
2x Dash Orange Bitters
2x Dash Chocolate Bitters

Equipment
Mixing Glass
Spoon
Strainer
Ice
Rocks Glass

Flavour Profile
Rich, Cacao, Dark Chocolate, Orange, Slight Spice

There are many flavours that work with bourbon, as highlighted by the food pairing. However, for the JAFOF, I really wanted to capitalise on the flavour profile of Woodford Reserve. In particular, two of its recommended flavour wheels: sweet aromatics and fruity & floral. By pairing the bourbon with the crème de cacao’s nutty, chocolate notes, the sweet aromatics are accentuated while the orange highlights the fruity and floral characteristics of the whiskey. By understanding why these flavours pair well with the whiskey individually, you are able to combine the ingredients in the correct ratios to bring out and balance these notes.

Other potential partnerings you could try are demerera, hazelnut, apple and cinnamon. Once you evaluate the flavour of the base spirit that you are using, just consider what will pair well with each note you find.

How-To

To start off, simply combine all of your ingredients into the mixing glass and stir well, this is to ensure that all of the ingredients have been combined properly. Your next step is to add the ice until all the alcohol is covered. By doing this, you will get your alcohol down to temperature quickly and have far more control over the dilution of the drink.

Stir the drink well until all the alcohol has hit the ice and taste. What you will be looking for is the harsh and boozy flavours of the alcohol and the sugar. It should have mellowed out and started to work harmoniously next to one another. Once the drink is to your taste, decant into a rocks glass.

With the drink now in the rocks glass, you want to prepare your garnish, in this case an orange zest. Once you have added ice to your finished cocktail, squeeze the orange zest to release all of its essential oils over the drink, thus enhancing the orange notes. Once this has been done, your JAFOF is ready to be consumed!

Making cocktails at home should be fun and an experience for everyone. It’s not about making the most perfect drink, but rather creating memories and moments that you can share with everyone.

Read more about what Jeremy has to say about getting to know Woodford Reserve Bourbon here.