An old fashioned is the perfect cocktail for any event. It is an approachable classic, sophisticated yet simple, and is the ultimate opportunity to incorporate your own creative twist. With fall approaching, one of our favorite twists on this timeless cocktail is an earl grey old fashioned. This spin takes the the rich toasty oak notes of a great bourbon, and pairs them with a herbal and floral sweetness of a black tea infused demerara syrup.

To make this variation on an old fashioned you will need to start by preparing the earl grey demerara syrup, with the following ingredients:

1 cup water

1 cup demerara (or turbinado) sugar

4 tea bags of earl grey tea

Put everything in a small pot and simmer until all of your sugar has dissolved. Once all of the sugar has desolved, remove from heat, and let the tea continue to steep for at least 20 minutes. Then, pull out the tea bags (squeezing out any extra syrup), and transfer the syrup into a container in the refrigerator to cool down. Once your syrup is cool you are ready to make your old fashioned.

You will need:

2oz Bourbon (your favorite)

0.5oz Earl Grey Demerara Syrup

2 dashes Angostura Bitters

2 dashes Orange Bitters

Pour all your ingredients into a mixing glass on ice, and stir for about 15 seconds (a long stir is the key to a great old fashioned). From there, strain your old fashioned into a rocks glass on fresh ice, or one large ice cube. For garnish, get a vegetable peeler and peel a large piece from an orange skin, avoiding as much white as possible. With the skin side facing your cocktail, squeeze the peel in half to express the orange oil over your old fashioned, and toss the peel in the glass.

With that you have a deep, lightly sweet, vibrant cocktail that will warm your guests at any fall events, cheers!