Name: Oaxaca Old-Fashioned
Total time: 4 min
Cuisine: Cocktail
Ingredients: 45 ml Reposado tequila; 15 ml Mezcal; 7.5 ml Agave syrup; 4 drop Chocolate bitters

Oaxaca Old-Fashioned
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Serve in an Old-fashioned glass

Ingredients:
1 ¹⁄₂ oz	Patrón Reposado tequila
¹⁄₂ oz	Del Maguey Vida Clásico Mezcal
¹⁄₄ oz	Agave syrup
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 (flamed).
STIR tequila with three ice cubes in a glass.
Add other ingredients and STIR with more ice.
Top up ice and STIR some more.
EXPRESS flamed orange zest twist over cocktail, then use as garnish.

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol

Medium

Boozy

Sweet

Medium

Dry/sour

More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Review:

An agave-based old-fashioned with a wonderful hit of smokiness from the mezcal.

Like many cocktails, Philip's original recipe (of 45 ml Reposado tequila, 15 ml Mezcal, 7.5 ml Agave syrup and 1 dash Angostura bitters) has morphed with chocolate bitters now favoured by many in place of Angostura (as per the recipe above). If using a "sweeter" style glycerine-based (rather than alcohol-based) chocolate bitters, such as Fee Brothers, or you have a bone-dry palate, then consider reducing the agave syrup to 5ml.

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History:

Created 2007 by Philip Ward at Death & Co., New York City, USA.
See: Old-Fashioned cocktail history

More cocktails by Phil Ward

Nutrition:

One serving of Oaxaca Old-Fashioned contains 154 calories

Alcohol content:

1.4 standard drinks
28.3% alc./vol. (28.3° proof)
19.1 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 10 of 25 comments for Oaxaca Old-Fashioned.
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Matt Burnham

11th April at 14:54

Substituted Giffard orgeat for the agave syrup and was very happy I did. Absolutely delicious.

Morten Carlsbaek

5th April at 21:37

I just stirred it without all the fuss and really liked this mellow, full-bodied tequila nightcap!

Justin Aniello

17th February at 01:20

Simple and delicious, I kept the agave as is but I also used a high smoke mezcal.

Patrick Valentino

13th January at 01:13

I've typically made with angostura but just came across this one with chocolate bitters. Which makes sense. Maybe I will have a second one tonight to compare? On a school night no less

Annechien

18th December 2024 at 19:24

Oh my. I didn’t expect to like this so much. I was saving this recipe for 2 special bottles of tequila that I got as a present. I do like old fashioned, but I was afraid I wouldn’t like the smokiness. No worries there. This is spectacular. Really wonderful with the orange and chocolate flavours.

John CARR

2nd November 2024 at 13:25

This is something quite special. Not a big tequila or mezcal drinker, making it more so. I did knock back the agave to 5ml for my palate, even with bob’s chocolate bitters. As Florian points out, easiest to dissolve agave in the spirits before adding ice.

John CARR

2nd November 2024 at 13:26

Deservedly a modern classic.

Charlie Forbes

1st November 2024 at 22:23

I was stuck w/o orange peel and used grapefruit instead - no matter, as the cocktail was still truly excellent and a rare 5 for this bar.

Matt

27th October 2024 at 03:02

One of my favorite cocktails - I really like the tequila/mezcal combo. I don't know if the chocolate bitters add much, and I do advocate for adding some saline solution (I added 5 drops) - think of it as a sub for a salted rim on a margarita.

Rae Hopcroft

26th October 2024 at 06:11

Ever so slightly too sweet - read the comments before making. Would dial back the agave a touch to accommodate Fee Aztec bitters but otherwise a delicious sipper. A few grains of salt also lifted the flavour somewhat.

John Champion

7th May 2024 at 16:35

One of my all time favorite Old Fashioned riffs. Agave spirits are not usually my favorite, but in this application they shine. I also enjoy this with orange bitters, either instead of the chocolate or in addition to it.

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