Even if you don’t know how to make any other cocktails, you should know how to make an old fashioned. This is especially true if you’re a fan of whiskey. This simple, elegant, classic cocktail is made with whiskey, a sugar cube (or simple syrup), a few dashes of water, and Angostura bitters (although you can easily adapt the drink with your favorite bitters).
Like many iconic cocktails, there are a few stories surrounding the creation of the old fashioned. The most popular origin story takes us back to 1880. This was supposedly when bartender and bourbon pioneer James E. Pepper created the drink at Louisville’s Pendennis Club.
While you can make an old fashioned variation with bourbon, brandy, or even añejo tequila, many drinkers prefer it with spicy, peppery rye whiskey. For those new to whiskey (or those who haven’t branched out beyond bourbon), rye whiskey must be made with a minimum of 51 percent rye (although it usually contains a much larger percentage).
While bourbon, with its corn, caramel, oak, and vanilla notes, gives an old fashioned a sweeter base, rye whiskey adds an extra kick of pepper, spice, and sometimes herbal flavors to your favorite cocktail. It especially blends well into a classic rye old fashioned.
Knob Creek Straight Rye
This bold, rich, complex 100-proof rye whiskey is matured for a minimum of seven years in charred oak barrels. Its high-corn mash bill gives it a nice mix of sweetness and peppery spice. It’s the perfect rye whiskey to mix with if you’re preparing old fashioned for friends or family members who usually prefer the drink with bourbon. One sip and they’ll never look at this cocktail the same way again.
Buy: $43.99
Sagamore Spirit Double Oak Rye
If you’re whipping up an old fashioned using rye, you better at least have one bottle of Sagamore Spirit in your liquor cabinet. This award-winning expression from the Maryland-based distillery is first matured between four and five years in high-char new American oak barrels before being moved to toasted wave stave barrels for another 18 months. The result is a complex, sippable, mixable whiskey with toffee notes, hazelnuts, toasted coconuts, candied pecans, vanilla, and rye spice. It’s a potent 96.6 proof, and will stand up to the other old fashioned ingredients.
Buy: $69.99
Catoctin Creek Roundstone Rye
Catoctin Creek Roundstone Rye might not be a household name (yet), but if you enjoy your old fashioned with a rye whiskey base, you’re going to want to memorize it. This 80 proof, pre-Prohibition style rye whiskey features a mash bill of 100 percent rye that’s locally sourced when possible. Matured in new charred white oak casks for a minimum of two years, it has a mix of candied orange peels, sticky toffee, caramel, vanilla, nuts, and gentle rye flavors.
Buy: $44.99
Rittenhouse Straight Rye
When it comes to classic rye whiskey brands, there are few as timeless as Rittenhouse. Named for Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia, Rittenhouse Straight Rye is a 100 proof, bottled-in-bond whiskey that was matured for four years. A favorite among bartenders and home mixologists alike, it’s known for its nose of raisins, caramel, vanilla, and spice and a palate of toasted vanilla beans, candied orange peel, cinnamon candy, chocolate, and oaky wood. The finish is a mix of maple candy and peppery rye. It’s a perfect choice for a classic old fashioned.
Buy: $28
Alberta Premium Cask Strength Rye
Back in 2021, Alberta Premium Cask Strength Rye was named “World Whisky of the Year" in Jim Murray’s beloved Whisky Bible. With a proof around 132, to say this whisky is potent is a ridiculous understatement. Made with a mash bill of 100 percent Alberta-grown rye, it’s beloved for its nose of vanilla beans, chocolate, dried fruits, and peppery rye. The palate has hints of raisins, caramelized sugar, toasted vanilla beans, and spicy rye. All these aromas and flavors are a perfect complement to the other old fashioned ingredients.
Buy: $73.99
Michter’s US-1 Kentucky Straight Rye
If you only buy one bottle on this list, make it Michter’s US-1 Kentucky Straight Rye. It’s made with a mash bill of sheared rye. This is a way to get the most aroma and flavor out of the grain. This single barrel expression is a mixable 84.8 proof and is matured in fire-charred, new American oak barrels. This creates a complex, nuanced whiskey with notes of candied orange peels, charred oak, butterscotch, vanilla beans, and spicy, peppery rye. It’s sure to add a spicy, sweet kick to your old fashioned.
Buy: $46.99
