Name: The Ginger Old Fashioned, Take 1
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: 1.5 oz Rye (bourbon will do as well); .75 oz Barrow's Intense Ginger Liqueur; 4-5 dashes Regan's Orange bitters

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Today’s cocktail is a guest pour from Benjy Rose, shared generously with Bourbony.

I love ginger.

The bite, the fresh aroma, the digestive benefits, the way it can complement and enhance so many different foods & beverages… ginger makes me happy. I have a bottle of ginger-and-dried-pineapple infused vodka in my bar that’s sooooo yummy.

A few years ago, my wife and I lived in Brooklyn for two months as part of our Empty Nester Fall ’23 Tour. It was awesome – highly recommend. One rainy Saturday we were walking around Industry City, a series of parallel warehouses turned into a huge indoor/outdoor retail/restaurant/maker space extravaganza, and we came across Barrow’s distillery/tasting room. This place makes one thing: Barrow’s Intense Ginger Liqueur. And if you like ginger, this is…really friggin’ good. It’s great with vodka as a spritz, on its own with club soda or tonic for a low-alcohol bubbler, even in tea. But the real magic is when you mix it with whiskey.

So on to the cocktail.

I’m a big fan of Old Fashioneds. Especially with rye. But most of the time, they’re made way too sweet for my liking. I’m generally a bitter person, and oftentimes the sweetness goes too far and overpowers the drink. Here’s where Barrow’s comes in. It’s a liqueur, so it’s sweetened a bit, and I use it to provide the sweet balance instead of simple syrup. Yes, that makes it pretty much entirely booze…but I don’t hear any complaining.

Overall Balance

The spiciness of the rye is echoed in the subtle spiciness of the ginger liqueur, and both are balanced by the ginger liqueur’s sweetness. Then a generous splashing of orange bitters gives everything a nice citrus note.

Notes & Fine Tuning Options

If you can’t find Barrow’s (it’s available in 44 states, but not super-popular), I’ve heard Domaine de Canton is good, too, but I’m not sure if the proportions are the same. Depends on how intense and ginger-y and sweet it is. I have an unopened bottle just in case.
Captain Obvious here: if you want it more or less gingery, then add more or less ginger liqueur. But remember, it’s also providing sweetness, so those dials are connected.
This would also be good as a sour, with 1/2 oz of lemon juice. Ginger and lemon play well together.
While I prefer my Old Fashioneds with rye – especially Sagamore Double Oak Rye (which I had for the first time in this cocktail…nice & spicy, but well-blanaced by the oak) – you could make this with bourbon as well. I’d probably go for one with a more defined flavor profile (i.e. not a super mellow sipper).
Angostura bitters work well here, too, if you don’t have Regan’s Orange.
If you’re feeling fancy, top with an orange. Or a burnt blood orange. Or maybe – ooh, I’ll have to try this – a slice of fresh ginger.

Flavor Expectation

Deliciousness. If you like Old Fashioneds, and like ginger, then stop reading this and make one RIGHT NOW. Familiar yet exciting. Flavors you know, but not together like this. Think back to when you first had chocolate and peanut butter together. It’s like that.