Caraway Rye Old Fashioned

Drinks

Spirited

Caraway Rye Old Fashioned

Rye, caraway syrup, and bitters stirred over ice, finished with an expressed orange peel.

Time

5 min

Makes

1 serving

Difficulty

Easy

Glass

Rocks glass

Stirred

Ingredients

2 oz Rye whiskey (At least 90 proof. Rittenhouse or Bulleit work well.) ¼ oz Caraway syrup (See the tip — homemade is worth the ten minutes.) 2 dashes Angostura bitters 1 dash Orange bitters (Optional. Fee Brothers or Regan's.) Orange peel (For expressing.)

Make the caraway syrup

Toast 1 tbsp caraway seeds in a dry pan, crush lightly, and steep in ½ cup hot simple syrup for 10 minutes. Strain. Keeps in the fridge for two weeks. The store-bought version is a compromise.

Method

Add the rye, caraway syrup, and both bitters to a mixing glass with a large cube of ice.

Stir for 20 seconds, until well chilled and lightly diluted.

Strain over a single large cube in a chilled rocks glass.

Express the orange peel over the surface — skin side down, twist hard — and drop it in.

From the kitchen

A drink that has opinions.

— Oysterdrive

Story so far

The anchor

The latkes need something that can stand up to the beef, the sauerkraut, and the caraway in the salad. This is it. Rye brings the spice; caraway brings the earth; bitters pull it all together. Stirred, not shaken — this is a thinking drink, not a working one.