Old Fashioned Recipe

Combine

Place the granulated sugar, water and ground wattleseed in a small saucepan.

Heat

Warm the mixture over medium-low heat, stirring until the sugar fully dissolves. Do not boil vigorously; maintain a gentle simmer for 3–5 minutes to coax flavors from the wattleseed.

Steep

Remove from heat and let the syrup steep for 20–30 minutes, covered, to deepen the roast, coffee and chocolate notes of the wattleseed.

Strain

Strain the syrup through a fine mesh sieve lined with coffee filter or cheesecloth into a clean jar to remove grounds. Press gently on solids to extract liquid but avoid forcing through grit.

Cool & Store

Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate. Syrup will keep 10–14 days refrigerated.

Chill the serving glass (old-fashioned or rocks glass) by filling with ice and setting aside while you prepare the drink.

Add 60 ml Australian rye whiskey to a mixing glass or small jug.

Add 10 ml wattleseed simple syrup, 2 dashes Angostura bitters and 1 dash orange bitters to the whiskey.

Fill the mixing glass with ice and stir gently for 20–30 seconds until well chilled and slightly diluted (target about 15–20% dilution by weight). Stirring will both chill and marry the flavors without over-aeration.

Discard ice from the chilled serving glass and add one large ice cube or sphere.

Strain the mixed cocktail over the large ice cube into the serving glass.

Express the oils from an orange peel over the drink by holding it skin-side down, giving it a good squeeze and rubbing the rim with the peel. Drop the peel into the glass as garnish.

Optionally add an extra dash of Angostura bitters on top or garnish with a single coffee bean to accentuate the wattleseed's roast notes.

Serve immediately.