Not Your Average Cocktail || Best Old Fashioned Recipe

Let’s raise a glass together because the weekend is almost here!  And, what better way to celebrate than with the best old fashioned recipe you’ll try! 

If you’re new here to A Lily Love Affair, we recently kicked off a new weekly Fall and Winter cocktail series where every Thursday we’ll share a new tasty recipe with y’all.

What’s fun about this best old fashioned recipe is it’s a great twist on a real classic.  I collaborated on this recipe with my fabulous friend behind The Tasty Travelers.  If you’re not following her, I highly recommend you start asap.  She creates the most incredible Instant Pot and Ninja Foodie recipes.  And, what’s better, she loves to travel just like me.  🙂

With the holiday season just around the corner, this old fashioned will be a true crowd pleaser.  And, how pretty is it?

We’re calling this ‘Not Your Average Old Fashioned Recipe’ as it has many the traditional ingredients you would expect like bourbon and bitters, but adds in some spectacular ingredients like fresh oranges and grapefruits and a killer thyme simple syrup!  Yum, right?

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TIPS FOR MAKING THE BEST OLD FASHIONED RECIPE:

1. Make the thyme syrup!  Yes, it sounds and looks pretty fancy and hard to make….but it’s NOT!!  It’s so easy and adds so much to this drink!  Be sure to use fresh thyme!
2. Be sure to section the orange and grapefruit and remove the pith.  If you keep the pith, the orange and grapefruit juice will not combine with the other ingredients as well.
3. Serve in a fancy glass if you have one!  The fancy glass makes this beautiful cocktail shine!

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HOW TO MAKE THE THYME SIMPLE SYRUP:

1. Combine water and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.
2. Once boiling, remove from heat.
3. Add fresh thyme sprigs to sugar water and let steep for 10-15 minutes.

HOW TO MAKE THE BEST OLD FASHIONED RECIPE:

1. Section half of the orange and grapefruit into pieces.  Be sure to remove fruit pulp from the pith (the white skin that separates the fruit sections).
2. Once you have the fruit sectioned, cut into bite size pieces.  1/2 to 1 inch in size.
3. Fill a shaker with crushed ice, orange and grapefruit pieces, bourbon, bitters and thyme syrup.  Shake well!
4. Fill glass with crushed ice or place ice sphere into glass.
5. Strain drink mixture over ice.
6. Garnish with orange twist and 1 sprig of fresh thyme.

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INGREDIENTS FOR THE BEST OLD FASHIONED RECIPE:

Thyme simple syrup: Makes enough for 4 cocktails

• 1/4 cup of water
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 5 sprigs of fresh thyme

Not Your Average Old Fashioned: Makes enough for 4 cocktails

• 1 orange- blood oranges work great for this recipe!
• 1 grapefruit
• 4 ounces ounces of bourbon- I used Wild Turkey
• 6 dashes of Angostura Bitters
• 4 ounces of thyme simple syrup- use recipe from above
• orange twist- for garnish
• 1 sprig of fresh thyme- for garnish
• 4 cups of crushed ice or 4 ice spheres

Sip & Enjoy!