Old Fashioned Appetizer
Stir ∙ 3 min ∙ 21.7% ABV ∙
The Old Fashioned Appetizer stirs bourbon and Dubonnet with orange curaçao, citrus, pineapple juice, absinthe and Creole bitters, over ice. Silky and lightly bittersweet, with a faint anise whisper trailing behind a fruity, warming finish that lingers pleasantly on the palate.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Stir all ingredients with ice: Bourbon 30 mlDubonnet/French rouge aromatised wine 30 mlOrange curaçao liqueur 5 mlOrange juice 5 mlPineapple juice 5 mlAbsinthe 2 dashesCreole-style bitters 1 dash
- Strain into the ice-filled glass
- Express a lemon twist over the cocktail and discard
- Garnish with a maraschino cherry on a skewer and a pineapple wedge on the rim
Tips
- Pre-chill the glass before straining so the small total pour stays cold once strained over fresh ice.
- Add the absinthe as dashes only — it is meant to perfume the drink, not compete with the Dubonnet.
- Express the lemon twist directly over the surface and discard it; the oil, not the peel, is the point.
History
The Old Fashioned Appetizer traces to 1917, when New York bartender Hugo Ensslin included it in the second edition of his book Recipes for Mixed Drinks. Ensslin's version split the whiskey base with Dubonnet and used a barspoon of Curaçao as the sweetener, a lighter, more aromatic departure from the plain whiskey, sugar, and bitters formula of the era. Its name is generally thought to come from the elaborate garnish of an orange slice, a pineapple slice, and a lemon twist that dressed up the drink, giving it the look and feel of a starter course rather than the pared-back original.
The drink is a variation on the Old Fashioned, the whiskey cocktail whose own name is tied to the practice of ordering a drink mixed the old-fashioned way with spirit, sugar, water, and bitters, and whose exact place and date of origin remain debated among rival claimants from the late 19th century. Where that classic keeps its build spare, Ensslin's Appetizer version stretches the formula by adding an aromatized wine and a liqueur alongside the whiskey, turning a simple nightcap into a more elaborate, garnish-forward pre-dinner drink.
FAQ
What is a traditional Old Fashioned cocktail?
A traditional Old Fashioned is a stirred whiskey drink made with just spirit, sugar, and bitters, built over ice and finished with a citrus twist. The Old Fashioned Appetizer borrows that name and stirred structure but builds a different, more complex drink: bourbon paired with Dubonnet, orange curaçao, orange and pineapple juice, absinthe, and Creole bitters, served in an old-fashioned glass.
How strong is an Old Fashioned Appetizer?
It comes in at about 21.7% ABV, lighter than a standard Old Fashioned since the bourbon shares the base with Dubonnet and is further softened by the small juice additions.
