Name: Optimist Old Fashioned
Total time: 3 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 60 ml Bourbon whiskey; 15 ml Bénédictine D.O.M.; 2 dash Orange bitters; 4 drop Chocolate bitters

Optimist Old Fashioned
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Photographed in a ZigZag Old-Fashioned Glass

Ingredients:
2 oz	Bourbon whiskey
¹⁄₂ oz	Bénédictine D.O.M. liqueur
2 dash	Orange Bitters by Angostura
4 drop	Chocolate bitters

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

Select and pre-chill an Old-fashioned glass.
Prepare garnish of orange zest twist.
STIR all ingredients with ice.
STRAIN into ice-filled glass (preferably over a large cube or chunk of block ice).
EXPRESS orange zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Review:

With 60ml of 45% alc./vol. whiskey (depending on your bourbon) and 15ml of 40% alc./vol. liqueur, this is a punchy cocktail. Some may want to drop the bourbon by 10ml or even 15ml for reasons of sobriety (I tried that) but the original 1:4 ratio sits best. (The optimist in me cut the block ice for the pic way too tall.)

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History:

Adapted from a recipe created in 2021 by Stephanie Andrews at The Spindle Bar in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA.

More cocktails by Stephanie Andrews

Nutrition:

One serving of Optimist Old Fashioned contains 198 calories

Alcohol content:

1.9 standard drinks
34.49% alc./vol. (34.49° proof)
26.1 grams of pure alcohol

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Difford’s Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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Showing 5 comments for Optimist Old Fashioned.
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Marie-Laure ECHASSERIEAU

22nd February at 19:49

Did it with rye because hadn't Bourbon in the bar at the time, benedictine and Smoked vanilla bitter from french bitter brand "Beeter" to twist it. Had to restrain meself from having a second it was so good. Rich, still with the woody-herbs hints from the Benedictine, enhancing flavours from the Rye.

G. M. Genovese

26th September 2024 at 20:43

Damn tasty with simple Four Roses and Fee Bros bitters. Brand choices will clearly skew the results, but oh yeah it's good.

Chris Lamb

10th January 2023 at 06:19

Just an FYI that the 'Review' section mentions '15ml of 15% alc./vol. liqueuer,' but Bénédictine D.O.M. is 40%, not 15%.

Simon Difford

10th January 2023 at 18:01

Thanks, Chris. Now corrected.

Stuart Reeve

5th December 2022 at 20:06

Excellent, for me superior to the traditional Old Fashioned. The herbaceous flavours of the Benedictine work incredibly well with a strong bourbon like Jim Beam Black Label, really makes for a very refined and complex cocktail.

John Hinojos

20th April 2022 at 03:28

Really like this for an evening sipper or night cap. Very smooth. Slightly sweet, but not overly. Perfect on a quiet evening or with friends.

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