Top 5 Old Fashioned Cocktails in Boise
- Adam Brimhall
- July 19, 2019
- 4:57 pm
The Old Fashioned is a cocktail standard served the world over.
It’s made in many differing ways by muddling sugar and citrus with bitters, adding either whiskey or brandy, and usually an orange or other citrus garnish.
While seeking downtown Boise’s best Old Fashioned, it was no surprise to discover that the key to finding a quality cocktail is not only about where to go. It’s also about who is doing the mixing.
We asked all the mixologists of the places we visited to make us an Old Fashioned in exactly the way they would want to drink it. Here were the results:
#5: Tony at The Fork
Tony’s Old Fashioned is simple, smooth, and delicious.
- Mixed in a shaker, not the individual glass.
- Oranges squeezed rather than muddled
- Extra Angostura bitters
- Buffalo Trace bourbon
- Free pour of simple sugar syrup mixer made in house
- Shaken and poured over a single ice sphere in an Old Fashioned glass
#4: Kerril at Chandler’s
Kerril likes his Old Fashioned with a strong rye flavor.
- Each glass mixed individually
- Oranges muddled carefully so as to not get the rind
- Brown Sugar cubes
- Regular measure of Angostura bitters
- Cherry garnish
#3: Cass at Whiskey Bar
Cass makes an Old Fashioned that’s a little sweeter with full, balanced flavor.
- Mixed with a shaker
- Brown sugar syrup made in house
- 2 Kinds of bitters, Orange and Barrel Aged
- Buffalo Trace bourbon
- Orange and cherries garnish, not muddled
#2: Erik at Owyhee Tavern
Erik estimates Owyhee Tavern serves 150+ Old Fashioned cocktails a week. After so much experience, Erik finds the Old Fashioned tastier when it’s on the spicier side.
- Muddled oranges in individual glasses, not in a shaker
- Measured pour of house made brown sugar syrup
- Regular and Orange bitters
- Templeton Rye
- Free poured over an ice sphere
#1: Tyler at The Mode
Tyler puts some flare in his mixing, using only the finest whiskey to allow the bourbon flavor to fully emerge.
- Cherries and Oranges muddled in individual glasses
- Angostura Orange and regular bitters
- Homemade simple sugar syrup
- Poured over ice that’s been sawed and chipped from an enormous block
- Garnished with a flame zested twist of orange rind
You can get an Old Fashioned anywhere. But if you want a quality cocktail, Go! Check out these awesome local mixologists in downtown Boise.
What drink should we rate next?
- Martinis
- Negroni
- Manhattan
- Moscow Mule
Tell us what you think, and we will go out and find them!
Adam Brimhall
An expert at going out.
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