Gingerbread Old Fashioned

Right now there are two trays of gingerbread cookies in the oven here in the den, so I think it's safe to say that gingerbread is a flavour that will always remind us of Christmas.

A lot of aromatic bitters have a strong ginger and cinnamon flavour, so it's only a small step from a classic Old Fashioned to a one with some additional ginger flavour.

To make this a Gingerbread Old Fashioned, we've replaced the sugar syrup with a gingerbread syrup. You can make your own, or given how popular it is in coffee at this time of year, you can also pick up a bottle of pre-made gingerbread syrup if this simple infusion sounds like too much effort!

Gingerbread Old Fashioned

60ml whisky
barspoon of gingerbread syrup*
2 dashes of aromatic bitters

Combine simple syrup, bitters, half the whisky and a handful of cubed ice in a mixing glass. Stir for 45 seconds. Add a second handful of cubed ice and the rest of the whisky and stir for another 45 seconds. Strain over ice into a chilled rocks glass. Garnish with an amaretto cherry.

* You can make your own by adding ginger and cinnamon to a basic simple syrup recipe (follow Nigella’s recipe here) or use the pre-mixed Starbucks or Monin versions that are reasonably easy to find in the shops at this time of year.

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