Better Cook: Old Fashioned Holiday Cocktail

Written on December 20, 2012 at 8:30 am , by Erin Gleeson

Seasons Greetings from The Forest Feast! It’s always fun to have one fancy cocktail at holiday celebrations in addition to beer and wine, and this one is easy and festive! It’s a holiday twist on the classic Old Fashioned, with floating cranberries as garnish instead of a maraschino cherry.

The only real technique involved is cutting the orange twist. Just use a pairing knife to make a long wide shaving, then gently twist it from both ends into a loose spiral that can hang off the edge of the glass.

I mixed my ingredients first in a cocktail mixing glass, but you can also just do it in your glass.

Old Fashioned Cocktail (with a holiday twist!)

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon sugar
• Dash bitters
• An orange twist or an orange slice
• 2 ounces bourbon
• A few ice cubes (1/2 cup?)
• Fresh cranberries for garnish (they’re edible but probably too tart to eat)

Directions:

1. In a short stemless glass, combine sugar,  bitters and bourbon. Stir  until sugar is dissolved, then add ice and stir more.

2. Garnish with floating cranberries and an orange “twist” on the side of the glass.

Makes 1 serving

The Forest Feast is a blog by Erin Gleeson full of simple, colorful vegetable based recipes. After working for many years as a food photographer in NYC, Erin moved to a cabin in the woods last summer where she is currently working on The Forest Feast Cookbook.