Imperial Old Fashioned Recipe

Chill glass

Place an old fashioned glass in the freezer for a few minutes or fill with ice and cold water while you build the cocktail to chill the glass.

Measure

Using a jigger, measure 2 oz benchmark bourbon, 0.5 oz Narano bitter orange liqueur, and 0.25 oz Luxardo Sangue Morlacco into a mixing glass.

Add bitters

Add 2 dashes of Angostura bitters to the mixing glass.

Stir with ice

Fill the mixing glass with plenty of ice. Stir with a bar spoon for 20–30 seconds (about 15–20 full spoon rotations) until the mixture is well-chilled and slightly diluted—targeting approximately 20–25% dilution by volume for a balanced Old Fashioned.

Prepare glass

Discard the chilling ice/water from the old fashioned glass and add a single large ice cube or sphere.

Strain

Strain the stirred cocktail into the prepared old fashioned glass over the large ice cube using a Hawthorne or julep strainer.

Express orange oils

Take one piece of orange peel (about 1.5–2 inches). Hold it over the drink with the outer skin facing down and give it a firm twist to express the oils across the surface of the cocktail. Rub the peel's rim briefly around the glass for extra aroma, then drop the peel into the drink as garnish.

Serve

Serve immediately. Sip and note the interplay of bourbon, bitter-orange liqueur, and the savory-sweet accents from the Luxardo Sangue Morlacco and bitters.

If you prefer a slightly colder or longer-lasting chill, pre-chill the mixing glass and bar spoon in the freezer. Use a peeler to remove a clean strip of orange peel avoiding too much pith.