Right here’s a strategy to put this traditional cocktail excessive: a Smoked Previous Customary! This over-the-top spin infuses smoke into each sip.

Right here’s a strategy to take one of many oldest traditional cocktails up a notch…or two or three: a Smoked Previous Customary! This drink is for the adventurous residence bartender who’s after over-the-top flavors. It requires some particular tools (a smoking gun) and slightly time. Nevertheless it’s completely price it! The Smoked Previous Customary is a cocktail that’s cold-smoked, infusing a smoky depth into the traditional whiskey drink. It makes a drink expertise you’ll always remember.
Reading: How to make smoked drinks
Need a smoky taste with out particular tools? Attempt the Oaxaca Previous Customary (with Mezcal).
Table of Contents
Begin with a smoking gun!
Wait, a smoking gun? Sure, you want a particular device for the smoked Previous Customary: a smoking gun. It’s a device used to chilly smoke the meals: that’s, it injects a smoky taste with out making use of warmth. You need to use it indoors and it’s powered by wooden chips. We’ve had ours for a number of years, and in that point we’ve used it to smoke nearly all the pieces! Exterior of cocktails, we’ve used it to smoke:
- Potato chips (the most effective!)
- Popcorn
- Salmon
- Steak
- Ranch dressing
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Earlier than you can also make this drink, ensure to discover a smoking gun! We’ve used the Breville smoking gun for years and it really works like a allure. Observe the directions that include the smoking gun for the mechanics behind how one can use it.

How to make a smoked Previous Customary
Making a smoked Previous Customary requires 3 separate purposes of smoke. Listed below are the essential steps:
- Smoke the sugar, cocktail cherry and orange peel for two minutes. It’s simpler to infuse smoke into the garnishes vs the liquid. So right here the garnishes are the essential half! Use the smoking gun so as to add smoke to the glass, then cowl with a bigger glass or glass pitcher.
- Smoke once more for two minutes. To essentially infuse the smoky taste, you’ll do a second “booster” smoke by filling the glass with smoke once more and protecting it.
- Make the drink. Muddle the sugar with water, then add the bourbon and ice. Add again the smoked garnishes.
- Smoke a 3rd time. Smoke the glass for a 3rd time for two minutes to infuse the ultimate smoky taste and make for a showy presentation.

To make it much more showy, use clear ice!
The ice you utilize issues! We’ll assume you’re a seasoned residence bartender for those who’re making an attempt a smoked Previous Customary. Because it’s all about presentation, we extremely suggest utilizing clear ice. What’s it?
- Clear ice is crystal clear ice: as an alternative of cloudy ice that varieties if you use an ice tray. You possibly can lower clear ice into bigger, natural shapes that look similar to a drink from a flowery bar.
- Make it at residence! It’s one of the best ways to step up your do-it-yourself cocktail recreation, and it takes solely 24 hours. Right here’s How to Make Clear Ice.

Extra concerning the Previous Customary
The Previous Customary will get its title as a result of it began as actually the cocktail. The primary cocktail in existence! It was first documented within the early 1800’s by a New York paper. As soon as extra cocktails began coming alongside within the 1806’s, they wanted a reputation for that authentic whiskey cocktail. The “Old Fashioned” was born.
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The Previous Customary is a traditional alcoholic drink on the listing of Worldwide Bartender Affiliation’s IBA official cocktails. Which means that there’s an “official” definition of the drink, which is:
- Bourbon or rye whiskey
- Sugar dice
- Water
- Angostura bitters
- Orange peel and cocktail cherry garnish
The smoked Previous Customary got here alongside as a result of bartenders began chilly smoking drinks to infuse a smoky taste. It’s a contemporary spin on the traditional that’s completely price a strive.
Need one other spin on the Previous Customary? Attempt the Wisconsin Previous Customary, made with brandy and topped off with lemon lime soda. Or strive a Maple Previous Customary with maple syrup.

When to serve a smoked Previous Customary cocktail
The smoked Previous Customary cocktail is an excessive cocktail for impressing friends! Use it as a:
- Completely happy hour drink
- Feast drink
- Late night time drinks drink
- Guys night time drink
- Cocktail hour drink
Extra whiskey cocktails
We’ve acquired numerous nice whiskey cocktails and bourbon cocktails so that you can select from! Listed below are our favorites:
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- Favourite Whiskey Bitter Completely balanced and really easy to make! Or add a foam topping to make it a Boston Bitter.
- Brown Derby This retro drink options grapefruit and honey syrup: candy and refreshing!
- Paper Airplane A wonderfully balanced trendy traditional.
- Kentucky Mule A bubbly, gingery strategy to get pleasure from bourbon.
- Sazerac The official cocktail of New Orleans! Cognac, whiskey and absinthe make up this well-known drink. Or strive La Louisiane, a good higher spin on this traditional.
- Whiskey Smash A tangy and refreshing whiskey drink with lemon juice and mint — like a citrus spin on the Mint Julep.
- Manhattan Cocktail Add fashion to your night with this straightforward traditional whiskey cocktail made with simply three substances.
- Penicillin This tasty trendy traditional stars Scotch, honey, lemon and ginger.
- Vieux Carre Sturdy and sippable, it options whiskey, Cognac and vermouth.
- Alabama Slammer A retro highball cocktail filled with fruity taste.
- Boulevardier Cocktail A surprising traditional cocktail! This straightforward three ingredient drink an the advance on the Negroni, swapping gin for heat whiskey.