Brown Butter Old Fashioned

Any bourbon fans out there? Since we are confined to the house -- why not try out some new cocktails. Lu Brow, the cocktail director at New Orleans’ DTB knew she wanted the nutty, toasty flavor of brown butter in a cocktail. “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, whose complexity is in indirect proportion to the effort it takes to whip it up.

Ingredients

• 4 dashes Angostura bitters
• 1/4 oz Brown sugar syrup (equal parts brown sugar to water)
• 1 Orange peel
• 1 Luxardo maraschino cherry
• 2 oz Brown-butter-washed bourbon*
• Garnish: Orange peels
• Garnish: Luxardo maraschino cherry

Steps

1. In a rocks glass, muddle the bitters, syrup, orange peel and cherry.
   
2. Add the bourbon and 1 large ice cube and stir.
   
3. Garnish with an orange peel “rose” by rolling 2 swaths of orange peels with a Luxardo maraschino cherry inside.
   
4. *Brown-butter-washed bourbon: Slowly brown 1/2 cup unsalted butter in a saucepan until well-toasted with a nutty aroma. Remove it from the heat and allow it to cool. Pour a 750 mL bottle of Benchmark bourbon (or a bourbon of your choice) until a plastic container, and gently stir in the brown butter. Leave the mixture uncovered until it’s completely cool and the butter has become firm and risen to the top of the container. Freeze mixture, skim off solids, then strain through cheesecloth to remove all solids. Cover with lid, label and date. Bourbon will keep for a few weeks.
   

Image: Max Cusimano 
Recipe via Liquor.com