Drink recipe · 1 cocktail
Old Fashioned
Researched · Established classic specification
IBA-aligned Old Fashioned: 1½ oz bourbon or rye, a sugar cube, Angostura bitters, and water—stirred on ice with orange and cherry.
By DrinkKnird · October 27, 2026
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An Old Fashioned is a whiskey drink built in the glass: sugar, aromatic bitters, a little water, then bourbon or rye over ice. DrinkKnird follows the International Bartenders Association specification—45 ml whiskey, one sugar cube, a few dashes of Angostura, and a few dashes of water—so the page stays a documented classic instead of a house riff that never says so.
Muddle the sugar with bitters and water until it dissolves. That small amount of water is not a mixer; it is what turns the cube into a syrup so the whiskey does not sit on grit. Fill the glass with ice, add the whiskey, and stir until the drink is cold. Orange oil and a cocktail cherry are the IBA garnish, not extra juice in the glass.
This is a researched classic specification for home use, not a kitchen-tested claim. For more stirred whiskey drinks, see the [Boulevardier](/boulevardier) and the [cocktail recipes](/cocktail-recipes) collection. Use the [batch calculator](/tools/cocktail-batch-calculator) only if you pre-mix the liquid parts and still stir each serving with ice.
- Spirit
- bourbon or rye whiskey
- Glass
- old-fashioned / rocks glass
- Garnish
- orange slice or zest, cocktail cherry
- Alcohol
- alcoholic
Contains alcohol. Intended for adults of legal drinking age. Please drink responsibly.
Recipe
Drink recipe
Yield: 1 cocktail
Original yield: 1 cocktail
Scales ingredient amounts only. Temperatures, times, ratios, and instruction text stay as written. Saved and printed copies keep the original recipe amounts.
Ingredients
- 1½ ounces (45 ml) bourbon or rye whiskey
- 1 sugar cube
- Few dashes Angostura bitters
- Few dashes plain water
- Orange slice or zest, and a cocktail cherry, for garnish
- Ice cubes
Instructions
- Place the sugar cube in an old-fashioned glass. Saturate it with Angostura bitters and add a few dashes of plain water.
- Muddle until the sugar is dissolved. Do not add extra water beyond a few dashes.
- Fill the glass with ice cubes and pour in the whiskey.
- Stir gently until the drink is cold and slightly diluted.
- Garnish with orange slice or zest and a cocktail cherry. Serve immediately.
Make-ahead
- You can pre-dissolve sugar with bitters and a little water as a small syrup, then build each drink with whiskey and ice.
Notes
- Timing is a research-based estimate for a single built cocktail, not a kitchen-timed result.
- Few dashes is not a measured ounce—leave it unscaled or add dashes by taste when batching.
- Bourbon reads sweeter; rye reads spicier. The IBA allows either.
- Common mistake: drowning the drink in soda water. The spec is a few dashes of plain water to dissolve sugar.
- No-cook: there is no heating step. Do not invent a cook time.
Why this recipe works
Sugar, bitters, and a little water give the whiskey a dissolved base so the drink stays spirit-forward instead of gritty or overly sweet.
troubleshooting
If the sugar stays grainy, add one more dash of water and muddle longer—do not add an ounce of water. If the drink tastes thin, you used too much water or over-stirred on small wet ice. If it tastes harsh, the whiskey may need a few more stirs for chill and melt, not extra sugar.
Recipe sources & development
Established classic specification
Built Old Fashioned aligned to the IBA official specification, with home-bar notes drawn from that standard.
Why this formulation: The IBA list specifies 45 ml bourbon or rye, one sugar cube, bitters, and a few dashes of water, stirred on ice.
Other approaches: Some bars use simple syrup instead of a cube, or add soda. Those are house styles; this page follows the IBA cube-and-dashes build.
Adaptation credit: International Bartenders Association Official Cocktail specification
Developed from published sources; not yet kitchen-tested by DrinkKnird.
- Old Fashioned — IBA Official Cocktail — International Bartenders Association · researched 2026-10-27
45 ml bourbon or rye whiskey; 1 sugar cube; few dashes Angostura bitters; few dashes plain water; muddle, add ice and whiskey, stir; orange slice or zest and cocktail cherry
- IBA Cocktails — International Bartenders Association · researched 2026-10-27
Official IBA cocktail index
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