Coffee Old Fashioned
A bourbon old fashioned with a quiet coffee note running through it, dark, slightly bitter and warming. It is stirred, never shaken, and the coffee is there to deepen the whiskey rather than turn it into a coffee drink.
At a glance
- Bourbon : cold brew
- 4:1
- Active time
- 3 min
- Total time
- 3 min
- Makes
- 1 cocktail
- Serve
- Over one large cube
- Kit
- Mixing glass
Ingredients
Note: For coffee-infused bourbon: 20 g of coarsely cracked beans in 250 ml bourbon for 12 to 24 hours, then strained. Use 60 ml of it and skip the cold brew.
Method
-
Everything into a mixing glass
Put the bourbon, cold brew, demerara syrup and bitters in a mixing glass. Fill it with ice.
-
Stir, do not shake
Stir with a bar spoon for thirty seconds, until the glass is frosty.
Stirring chills and dilutes without adding air. Shaken, it turns cloudy and frothy, which is wrong for this drink.
Stir 30 seconds -
Strain over a large cube
Put one large ice cube in a heavy tumbler and strain the drink over it.
-
Express the orange
Squeeze the orange peel over the glass, skin side down, so its oil sprays across the surface. Rub it round the rim and rest it on the cube.
Why this works
Coffee and bourbon share a great deal. New charred oak barrels give bourbon vanilla, caramel and toasted notes, which come from the same kinds of reactions, caramelisation and the breakdown of wood sugars and lignin, that give roasted coffee its own caramel and toast. Put them together in small amounts and the coffee reads as a darker, deeper version of the bourbon's own character rather than a separate flavour.
The quantity is what keeps it an old fashioned. Twelve and a half millilitres of cold brew concentrate in fifty of bourbon is a seasoning. Cold brew suits it because it is smooth and low in sharp acidity, so it adds roast and body without making the drink sour. Espresso is harsher and brings crema, which clouds the drink.
Demerara syrup made two to one is richer than plain simple syrup, and its molasses notes suit both the whiskey and the coffee. Bitters season the drink the way salt seasons food, tying the sweet and bitter together.
Stirring rather than shaking keeps the texture silky and clear. Stirring chills and dilutes slowly, without the air and tiny ice shards that shaking adds. One large cube melts slowly, so the drink stays cold and strong. The orange oil on top is the first thing you smell, and its bright citrus lifts what would otherwise be a very dark, heavy drink.
Variations
- Coffee-infused bourbon: crack 20 g of beans into 250 ml of bourbon for 12 to 24 hours, strain, and use 60 ml with the syrup and bitters.
- With rye: spicier and drier.
- With mezcal: half bourbon, half mezcal, for smoke.
- With chocolate bitters: in place of aromatic bitters, which leans towards a mocha.
A strong, spirit-forward cocktail. Not for drivers or anyone avoiding alcohol.
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Questions
How do you make a coffee old fashioned?
Stir 50 ml bourbon, 12.5 ml cold brew concentrate, 7.5 ml rich demerara syrup and two dashes of bitters with ice, strain over one large cube and finish with orange peel.
Should a coffee old fashioned be shaken?
No. Stirring keeps it clear and silky. Shaking adds air and makes it cloudy.
How do you infuse bourbon with coffee?
Crack about 20 g of whole beans and leave them in 250 ml of bourbon for 12 to 24 hours, then strain through a paper filter. Taste after twelve hours, as it turns bitter if left too long.
Can I use espresso in an old fashioned?
You can, about 10 ml, but it is harsher and its crema clouds the drink. Cold brew concentrate gives a smoother, clearer result.