Weller 'special Reserve' Private Barrel* Recipe

Chill glass

Place an Old Fashioned (rocks) glass in the freezer for several minutes or fill it with ice water while you prepare the cocktail to lightly chill the glass.

Combine ingredients

In a mixing glass add 2 oz Weller Special Reserve, 0.25 oz demerara (or 1:1 simple) syrup, and 3 dashes Angostura bitters.

Stir

Add a large handful of ice to the mixing glass and stir with a bar spoon for 20–30 seconds (about 20–30 full rotations) until the mixture is well chilled and slightly diluted (roughly 15–20% dilution by volume). If you prefer slightly less dilution, stir 15–20 seconds; for more, stir 30–40 seconds or add a small spoon of crushed ice for faster chilling.

Prepare glass

Discard ice or water from the chilled rocks glass. Place a single large ice cube into the glass.

Strain and garnish

Strain the stirred cocktail over the large ice cube. Express the orange peel over the drink (hold peel with the outer skin facing down about 3–4 inches above the glass and give it a firm short squeeze to spray oils over the surface), then wipe the rim with the peel and drop it into the glass. Add one Luxardo or brandied cherry as garnish.

Serve

Serve immediately. Sip slowly to appreciate Weller Special Reserve's vanilla, caramel and baking-spice notes. If you like, add an extra dash of bitters to taste.

For a slightly boozier presentation, omit the large ice cube and serve up in a chilled coupe; follow the same mixing and stirring steps, then fine-strain into the chilled coupe and garnish with expressed orange peel.

If you prefer muddled sugar rather than syrup: in the rocks glass muddle 1 sugar cube (or 1/4 tsp demerara) with 3 dashes Angostura and a teaspoon of water until dissolved, then add 2 oz bourbon and large ice cube and stir briefly — this changes texture and dilution timing.