Skip advertisement Advertisement

Fancy Free

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (449)
Fancy Free image
Measurements in:
Serves:
1
Ingredients
2 fl oz Bourbon whiskey
5⁄12 fl oz Luxardo Maraschino liqueur
3 dash Angostura Aromatic Bitters
2 dash Orange Bitters by Angostura

Read about cocktail measures and measuring

Difford’s Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above.

How to make

Glass

Photographed in an UB 1910 Old Fashioned 10.5oz

Prepare

  1. Select and pre-chill an OLD-FASHIONED GLASS.
  2. Prepare garnish of orange zest twist.

Method

  1. STIR all ingredients with ice.
  2. STRAIN into ice-filled glass (preferably over a large cube or chunk of block ice).

Garnish

  1. EXPRESS orange zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Flavour Profile

No alcohol
Medium
Boozy
Sweet
Medium
Dry/sour
More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Health & Nutrition

Nutrition:

One serving of Fancy Free contains 179 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 1.8 standard drinks
  • 33.59% alc./vol. (67.18° proof)
  • 24.9 grams of pure alcohol

Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

History

The first known reference to the Fancy Free appears in Crosby Gaige's 1940 Cocktail Guide and Ladies' Companion.

Fancy Free
1 jigger Fine Arts Whiskey
Dash of Angostura Bitters
Dash of Orange Bitters
2 dashes Maraschino
Frost the rim of a cocktail glass with lemon juice and fine sugar. Shake the ingredients with ice and strain into prepared glass.

Crosby Gaige, 1940


As you can see from the extract above, the Fancy Free was originally a shaken drink served in a sugar-rimmed stemmed cocktail glass; and that's how I first encountered this cocktail back in the 1990s. However, modern bartenders have reworked this cocktail to be an 'improved' Old Fashioned with "improved" referring to the use of maraschino liqueur in place of sugar syrup. Hence, the stemmed glass and sugared rim have gone, giving way to a stirred, on-the-rocks, old-fashioned style cocktail.

More cocktails by Crosby Gaige

Review

Aromatised, tamed bourbon with complex maraschino notes. Basically, a Whiskey Old Fashioned with maraschino in place of sugar syrup. Surprisingly dry, helped by generous dashes of orange and aromatic bitters.

Cocktail of the day:

3rd July 2026 is International Plastic Bag-Free Day

Variations/similar cocktails

Served straight-up in a sugar-rimmed coupe or Nick & Nora glass.
Improved Whiskey Cocktail

Difford’s Shop logo
$4.47 per cocktail*

Makes a minimum of 6 cocktails.
Shipping and applicable tax calculated at checkout.


Orders are processed by a licensed Fulproof retailer. The buy now button is added simply for convenience.

Checkout

* May not include all ingredients. Price per cocktail is an estimate based on cost of one cocktail with ingredients shown above and does not include shipping.

Visit Difford’s Shop USA

Gallery

Comments & Discussion

Peter Halpern Premium Member
I prefer the Death & Co version:
60ml rye
8-9ml (at most!) Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
*1* dash Angostura
*1* dash Bitter Truth Orange Bitters

You can thank me later! ;-)
score: 1
John Hinojos Premium Member
Had again as it was the Cocktail of the Day. As it has been years and our tastes have changed slightly, did find it a bit sweet. Would back off the liqueur a bit. I did like the amount of Angostura bitters as it gave it a spicy edge which reminded me of the Bourbon and Rye cocktails in New Orleans.
score: 1
Ryan Seesaw
Listened to the comments, and laid off the angostrua for additional orange bitters.
score: 1
Jeremy Harrold
For me, just a bit too much Angostura Bitters which obscured the Maraschino.
score: 1
Andre Derailleur Premium Member
Not an old fashioned but an “improved” whiskey cocktail surely.
score: 0
Joseph Nelson Premium Member
My first impression wasn't as positive as I'd hoped, but after letting the drink mellow just a moment, I began to appreciate the maraschino touch. I think I'm going to soften the angostura next time, to let the orange bitters take a stronger hold on the flavor.
score: 1
Ian Cummins
Upsetting and perfume-y. Undrinkable. I tried rescuing it by turning it into a long drink with soda water, but that didn't help either.
score: 0
Niccolò Murtas
I just sipped it for the first time; I made a sip and moved toward placing the glass on the table. Halfway toward that movement an explosion of iron in the "back-taste"... that maraschino of much more sweeeter fame. Majestic. Consider it a strange, mid-path in between a vieux carrè and a trident. You could sub possibly the maraschino for the akuavit (i don't have it) but i feel like somehow that explosion of iron in the aftertaste of the maraschino has something to do also with the sweet of the italian liquor, which in the aquavit would not exist at all (and thankfully).
score: 2
Tuna Cubed
A good reminder to the Americans among us (specifically me) that it can be good to switch the measurements to metric, especially when you find something like 5/12s of an ounce, which I confidently poured as 5/6s.

Cannot give it a rating, but I will definitely add some bitters the next time I want a nip of bourbon.
score: 3
Amarette Speights
I don’t know if the cocktail is somewhere else on the site, but I like a version of an improved old fashioned cocktail that has bitters, luxardo, and grand marnier. Fruity but not a muddled.
score: 1

Showing the first 10 of 25 comments.

View 25 comments and discussion

See more...

Difford’s Shop logo
$4.47 per cocktail*

Makes a minimum of 6 cocktails.
Shipping and applicable tax calculated at checkout.


Orders are processed by a licensed Fulproof retailer. The buy now button is added simply for convenience.

Checkout

* May not include all ingredients. Price per cocktail is an estimate based on cost of one cocktail with ingredients shown above and does not include shipping.

Visit Difford’s Shop USA

Pancho Villa (contemporary long version)

Pancho Villa (contemporary long version) Image

Fruity, yet balanced and well-weighted with just enough spirituous bite. Rum acts as a base while gin lightens and lifts.

View more

Ponte Vecchio

Ponte Vecchio Image

A delicately bittersweet Italian brandy and grappa Boulevardier with amaro liqueur and vermouth amaro.

View more

Bow and Arrow

Bow and Arrow Image

Tropical but far from sweet, led by an interplay between mezcal, pineapple and lime, spiced by cinnamon, with bourbon providing this sour's underlying...

View more

Flyby

Flyby Image

Lavender liqueur replaces crème de violette in this riff on an Aviation.

View more

Bait 'n' Switch

Bait 'n' Switch Image

A Pineapple Mezcal Margarita with chili and cinnamon spice.

View more

Fizz Italiano

Fizz Italiano Image

A superbly refreshing, bittersweet, zesty fizz.

View more