Drank

The Old Fashioned, with its proven formula of whiskey, sugar and bitters, is about as good as a drink can get. But bartenders prove time and time again that there’s more than one way to make an Old Fashioned. Modern classics like the tequila- and mezcal-laced Oaxacan Old Fashioned come to mind, as do varieties like the Rum Old Fashioned. Those are just the tip of the boozy iceberg though. Because all over the world bartenders tweak the recipe to their liking, serving countless unique iterations of this old-school drink.

Lu Brow, the former cocktail director at New Orleans’ now-closed DTB, wanted to incorporate the nutty, toasty flavor of brown butter into a cocktail. That led her to create the Brown Butter Old Fashioned, which features a base of brown butter-infused bourbon. To incorporate one into the other, Brow heats unsalted butter in a saucepan until it has a nutty aroma. She then adds the browned butter to a bottle of bourbon, freezes the mixture and skims off the solids until she’s left with a rich, buttery whiskey.

“Old Fashioneds are such a staple in the South and particularly New Orleans, so I chose to incorporate the flavors together in the glass,” she says. Brown sugar lends an earthy sweetness to this drink, while Angostura bitters and a muddled Luxardo maraschino cherry lend spice and rich fruit. The Brown Butter Old Fashioned takes a little extra time to construct. But the instructions are easy to follow, so this drink is surprisingly easy to make at home.