Maple Old Fashioned

The combination of maple syrup, bourbon, bitters and orange zest makes for a warming fall drink perfect for the season. Nothing fancy is needed to stir this recipe up hence you can make it in no time.

A traditional Old Fashioned is made with brown sugar, bitters, a little water, bourbon whiskey and orange zest. With the addition of maple syrup you don’t need t muddle the sugar with water etc. All the ingredients are poured over ice and everything gets stirred together until combined.

In terms of the ice, I used a large round cube of ice here, you can use any you like. Let us quickly talk about the orange, you want to get just the skin here (a little pith is fine) and gently squeeze the oils of the skin into the cocktail at the end. I also like running the zest around the rim of the glass for an added orange flavor. Some recipes use orange bitters as well.

In reference to the garnish, since the season is upon us I have used a couple of cranberries to add to the occasion. In saying this you don’t need to add it, rather the drink doesn’t call for a garnish. The drink must be served immediately as the ice will melt with the bourbon in the glass.

Food Pairing –

Anything with pecan nuts work well as it compliments the bourbon here. A cheese board with some firm cheeses like cheddar, gouda or parmesan would work well along side some beef sausage or pork salami. Bacon wrapped figs, roast pork or grilled lamb chops work well with this cocktail. While for vegetarian options, a butter nut squash and kale salad is a good option to go with. In reference to sweets, pumpkin pie, pecan bars, chocolate brownies, chocolate lava cake, chocolate chess pie, chocolate cake and a pecan coffee cake pair well.

Now that we have covered the basics lets get to cocktail hour. Happy Stirring Ninjas!