Fancy Free

The Fancy Free is a maraschino-laced cousin of the Old Fashioned, swapping sugar for the nutty, faintly cherry depth of maraschino liqueur and bracing it with two kinds of bitters. The result is a spirit-forward, lightly sweet sipper that reads as an "improved whiskey cocktail." It first surfaced in print in Crosby Gaige's 1941 Cocktail Guide and Ladies' Companion, where it was a shaken, sugar-rimmed coupe drink; modern bartenders favor this stirred, rocks-glass rendition with an expressed orange twist.

ClassicSpirit-Forward

Ingredients

  • 2 ozBourbon
  • 0.5 ozMaraschino Liqueur
  • 2 dashOrange Bitters
  • 1 dashAngostura Bitters

Garnish: Orange Peel

Preparation

Stirred · Old Fashioned · Large cube

  1. 1.

    add

    Combine bourbon, maraschino liqueur, orange bitters, and aromatic bitters in a mixing glass with ice.

  2. 2.

    stir

    Stir until well chilled and properly diluted, about 20-30 seconds.

  3. 3.

    strain

    Strain into a chilled Old Fashioned glass over a large ice cube.

  4. 4.

    express

    Express the oils of an orange twist over the surface.

  5. 5.

    garnish

    Drop the orange twist into the glass.

Flavor Profile

spiced
35%
body
35%
sweet
31%
heat
25%
fruity
19%
bitter
17%
Open in App