The Old Fashioned is my wheelhouse. They’re the first cocktail I perfected and the first whiskey cocktail I go to when I want to make a riff that reminds me of something else. When I tasted Watson’s barrel-aged maple syrup it make me think of that deep, cherry, maple flavor that comes through in a pie that’s room temperature and melts in your mouth as you take each bite.
There’s something magical about digging into a freshly baked cherry pie, and one that has a bit of bourbon in it is even better. I wanted to use the bourbon base-notes of the maple syrup with a fruit that wouldn’t overpower it and would marry well together as you sipped it. I found the perfect match in cherry liqueur and Watson’s Bourbon Barrel aged Maple syrup. Finished with a quality cherry garnish, some black walnut bitters and maybe a spiced pecan, you’ve got a cocktail in your hand that’s sweet, but not overpowering, and lets all the elements shine while you sip it.
My mother-in-law always made a cherry pie for my husband when we came over for dinner. And she usually used cherries picked from his grandmother’s cherry tree in Iowa, so both of us have fond memories associated with cherry pie. When I want to honor her and don’t have time to bake a cherry pie, I think she’d be happy with the idea of this whiskey cocktail.
If you’d like to see more cocktails using maple syrup, you can go here:
- maple old fashioned
- maple whiskey sour
- pear maple whiskey sour
- breakfast old fashioned
- maple caramel long john cocktail
- flavored maple syrup
Cherry Pie Old Fashioned
Ingredients
- 2 ounces bourbon
- 0.25 oz Watson’s barrel-aged maple syrup
- 0.25 oz cherry liqueur
- 2 dashes black walnut bitters
- Garnish: spiced pecans and cherries
Instructions
- Add cocktail ingredients to mixing glass, add ice and stir until well-chilled. Strain into an old fashioned glass with ice and garnish with cherries and pecan (if desired). Cheers!
