Smoked Old Fashioned Cocktail

I like an old fashioned cocktail when it is made correctly. The cocktail should be whiskey – either Bourbon or Rye whiskey – with simple syrup, a dash of bitters and water. It should be garnished with a cherry and maybe a twist of orange peel. It should not have an orange slice muddled in the glass because when you muddle the slice, you also release a bitter flavor from the pith of the orange slice. That is the way I like my old fashioned cocktail made.

In the last decade or so, smoked old fashioneds have become popular. They make an old fashioned cocktail and then place it in a box—I have seen bars use a Booker’s box for this—and fill the box with smoke. When done right, it makes for a very good cocktail with just a hint of smokiness. When done incorrectly, it gives the cocktail a taste as though one had put out a match in the cocktail. There are two places in Louisville that I have recently had very good smoked old fashioneds. The first is River House restaurant on River Road. They smoke their cocktail with cherry wood and use Knob Creek Bourbon or Rye. The next place is Prado 264 on Bardstown Road near Eastern Parkway. They also use cherry wood to smoke their cocktail and make it with Old Forester 86 proof. Both of these places produce a cocktail that is whiskey forward with just the right amount of smoke in the drink.

I won’t name any place that made what I consider an inferior smoked old fashioned because I have enjoyed other cocktails at these places and I do not hold the inferior smoked old fashioned against them. What makes these cocktails inferior in my opinion are twofold. Most of them are not whiskey forward. All you taste is the smoke and bitters. Their cocktail was probably made with an 80 proof whiskey that cannot hold its own against the smoke. The other reason is that they over smoke the cocktail and it tastes of a burnt match. I am not sure if this is the result from keeping it in the box too long or the type of wood used to smoke the cocktail. I suspect the latter. Cherry wood seems to be what I like because it does give a nice fruity smoke flavor to the cocktail. I had one smoked old fashioned where they used mesquite wood and I did not like it at all. It was too smoky and tasted of nothing but mesquite wood.

Smoked old fashioneds can be very good cocktails. They pair well with spicy food and barbecue. If they are made right, it can be a highlight of the meal. If done wrong, it can lead to a bad experience and ruin the flavor of your food.