The Easiest Way To Give Your Old Fashioned A Fall Upgrade

Old fashioned cocktails are a year-round favorite. Made from a balance of whiskey or bourbon, Angostura bitters, and sugar, these drinks are known for being simultaneously smooth yet spicy. The bitters used are what give it its subtle hints of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg that are only amplified when paired with the sweet, smokey, and spiced flavors of whiskey. Describing it, you might notice it sounds a lot like some of your other favorite fall treats — delivering all of the warm, toasty, and spicy flavors that are cognizant of the season. Still, while it hardly needs one, there are ways to give your old fashioned a fall upgrade. Just ask Derek Crow.

As the Lead Bartender at Bar Zazu in Resorts World Las Vegas, Crow knows a thing or two about upgrading your cocktails. And, when it comes to upping up the fall flavors in your old fashioned, his answer is a flavor you're likely quite familiar with — because it's everywhere. "In an old fashioned, a fun substitute for the simple syrup you would normally use would be a fall flavored syrup, like a pumpkin spice syrup. The seasonings in pumpkin spice syrup works incredibly well with the bourbon and would make this cocktail taste like fall in a glass," he told Tasting Table.

While it might not seem like it, pumpkin spice is hardly the only fall-flavored syrup out there. There are other ways to sneak in that extra bit of fall into your old fashioned.

Believe it or not, there are other fall flavors than pumpkin spice — and a lot of them could also work in your old fashioneds. For instance, why not try leaning into something like apple? It's just one of the many other varieties of produce that tend to get outshined by pumpkins in the fall but is just as commonly paired with the spices found in the Angostura bitters. Monin offers two options, both of which are currently available on Amazon: an apple syrup and caramel apple butter syrup, the former of which ranked well amongst Tasting Tables ranking of 20 popular Monin flavors. They also make a rather impressive spiced brown sugar syrup which would work perfectly.

As long as we're talking about out-shined fall produce, it's also worth mentioning persimmon. Being much more popular in Asian cultures, you'd likely have to make the syrup yourself at home — but, nevertheless, the substitution would lend your old fashioneds to other, more international ingredients. While they'll pair equally as well with the more traditional American fall spices found in the Angostura bitters, Persimmon old fashioned recipes add everything from a star anise garnish to mandarin oranges. These fruits are famous for being sweet, but you could also lean more into the spice by using spiced honey or spiced simple syrup instead.