When the season turns crisp, your usual Old Fashioned can feel predictable. You’re not looking for something trendy—you want depth, a drink that rewards careful sipping but also packs the holiday spirit. A well-made Gingerbread Old Fashioned answers that call. This isn’t gimmickry; it’s understanding how warming spices complement bourbon’s natural oak and caramel. If you’ve been searching for a way to elevate your whiskey cocktails beyond the standard pour, this recipe is it.
What Is a Gingerbread Old Fashioned Cocktail?
Quick Answer: The Gingerbread Old Fashioned takes the Old Fashioned’s foundation – bourbon, bitters, ice, citrus – and anchors it with a homemade spiced syrup. Fresh ginger, cinnamon, star anise, and molasses create layers that feel warm without tipping into dessert. The result is bourbon-forward, sophisticated, and made entirely by you.
What you’ll love about this recipe:
What You Need to Make a Gingerbread Old Fashioned
For the Gingerbread Simple Syrup
For the Old Fashioned:
How to Make a Gingerbread Old Fashioned
Make the Gingerbread Simple Syrup
- Combine water and brown sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until dissolved.
- Add ginger, cinnamon, star anise, cloves, allspice, and molasses. Stir.
- Bring to a gentle simmer. Reduce the heat to low and cook 10-12 minutes. Don’t boil.
- Remove from heat, stir in vanilla, and let cool completely.
Make the Gingerbread Old Fashioned
- Pour bourbon into a mixing glass. Add one ounce of syrup and both bitters. Fill with regular ice and stir for 30 seconds until the glass is cold.
- Place one large ice cube in each old fashioned glass—strain mixture evenly into both.
- Express orange peel over each drink, rub the rim, and add to the glass. Top with a gingerbread cookie and a cinnamon stick.
Bartenders Tips
- Taste your syrup before using. Adjust sweetness and spice to preference. Too thick? Thin with a teaspoon of hot water. Too thin? Simmer five more minutes.
- Large, clear ice cubes are non-negotiable. Standard ice melts too fast.
- Try adding cracked cardamom pods during the simmer for added aromatic dimension.
- Store syrup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
How to Serve This Gingerbread Old Fashioned
Serve in a proper old fashioned glass. This drink deserves glassware that matches its intentions. The gingerbread cookie and cinnamon stick telegraph flavor and signal slowness. This is an after-dinner drink, ideally shared with someone worth your time. Serve neat over your large ice cube—no modifications needed.
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Gingerbread Old Fashioned Cocktail Recipe
Equipment
- small saucepan
- Airtight bottle or jar
- Mixing glass
- jigger
- Bar spoon
- 2 old fashioned glasses
Ingredients
For the Gingerbread Syrup:
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1 2- inch piece fresh ginger sliced
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 star anise
- 4 whole cloves
- 4 whole allspice berries
- 1 tablespoon unsulphured molasses
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Old Fashioned:
- 4 ounces bourbon or whiskey
- 1 ounce gingerbread syrup
- 4 dashes Angostura bitters
- 2 dashes orange bitters
- 2 large ice cubes
- 2 orange peels for garnish
- 2 small gingerbread cookies for garnish
- 2 cinnamon sticks for garnish
Instructions
Make the gingerbread syrup
- Add water and brown sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves completely.
- Add the ginger, cinnamon stick, star anise, cloves, allspice berries and molasses to the pot.
- Bring the mixture to a simmer. Reduce heat to low. Let it cook for 10-12 minutes. Don’t let it boil.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat. Stir in the vanilla extract.
- Discard the solids and let the syrup cool before using.
Make the Old Fashioned cocktails
- Pour the bourbon or whiskey into a mixing glass. Add the gingerbread syrup and both bitters.
- Fill the mixing glass with regular ice cubes. Stir until the outside of the glass is cold.
- Place one large ice cube into each of the two old fashioned glasses. Strain the chilled liquid from the mixing glass into the two glasses.
- Rub the orange peel around the rim of the glass and then add to the drink. Garnish each glass with a gingerbread cookie and a cinnamon stick.
Recipe FAQs
Commercial versions vary widely in sweetness and spice. Start with half the recommended amount and adjust. Since homemade takes 20 minutes and stores for two weeks, we’d encourage making it yourself at least once.
Regular ice works but melts faster, diluting your drink throughout. If you make this regularly, an ice mold is worth the investment.
Honey or maple syrup works at roughly the exact measurement. The flavor shifts, but the syrup remains usable—you’re creating a variation, not the original recipe.
Up to two weeks in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Most people make the drink three to four times before needing a fresh batch.
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