Where to drink an Old Fashioned

Cocktail bar 1806 is a no-brainer for Old Fashioned Week. The bar's top shelf is well-stocked with the best whiskies and bourbons around, and the bar crew can whip up a mean classic cocktail.

Row 38

60ml Buttered popcorn infused Maker's Mark
10ml spiced sugar syrup
3 dashes of orange bitters
2 dashes of Angostura Bitters

Stir over ice, serve into a frozen glass over a block of hand-cut ice.

Feel like you're in a Parisian bar at Bar Ampere. The cocktails use classic European ingredients in fresh and ingenious ways, and this extends to their Old Fashioned with a twist. 

Cherry Sherry Maker

60ml Maker's Mark
7.5ml house barrel aged Pedro Ximenez
2 dashes of cherry bourbon and vanilla bitters
A cherry to garnish

Add 30ml of Maker's Mark, bitters and Pedro Ximenez to glass, stir down, then add the last 30ml of Maker's Mark. Top with ice, stir and garnish with a cherry.

Pull up a seat at the bar or watch the hustle and bustle of Collins Street from the streetside tables, this European drinking hole is a fashionable spot that's perfect for swilling a smokey, tea-infused take on the Old Fashioned. 

The Double Smoked Old Fashioned

Lapsang souchong-infused Maker's Mark
House-smoked maple syrup 
Barrel aged bitters

Stir over ice, serve into Maker's Mark glass over a block of hand-cut ice.

Trust Miss Pearls to make boozy garden parties a reality all year-round. Madame Brussels's rooftop garden cocktail bar makes a fitting background for a Kentucky High Tea.

Kentucky High Tea

60ml Maker's Mark
30ml Earl Grey tea syrup
Orange twist

Mix Maker's Mark and Earl Grey tea syrup, serve over ice. Garnish with an orange twist.

Before you go ahead and throw some shapes on the dancefloor at Ms Collins, sip on a refreshing Pink Lacer, a twist of the classic Old Fashioned that really amps up the orange component.

The Pink Lacer

45ml Maker's Mark
10ml Mandarin Napoléon
15ml orange blossom water
1 dash orange bitters
1 spoonful orange sherbet powder 

Mix all ingredients and stir down over crushed ice. Garnish with four big mint sprigs with a light dusting of icing sugar over the top. Serve in a bespoke Maker's Mark serving vessel.

Sometimes it's better to leave the classics as they are, and Spice Market is sticking to the rule book, letting Maker's Mark shine among the classic Old Fashioned ingredients. 

Spice Market Old Fashioned

45ml Maker's Mark 
30ml sugar
30ml orange
30ml bitters jelly

Add all ingredients to glass and stir down. Finish with an orange garnish.

Don't let the name fool you, Carlton Club's Old Fashioned is anything but traditional. The city bar shakes (or stirs) things up with the heady addition of Mescal and salted caramel, giving the Maker's Mark an extra punch of flavour. 

The Carlton Club Old Fashioned 
45ml Maker’s Mark
15ml Mescal
5ml salted caramel
3 dashes black walnut bitters
1 dash Australian bitters

Stir for 10-15 seconds until correct dilution. Garnish with a vanilla pod.

This alleyway bar in Chinatown delivers the goods when it comes to delicious cocktails. A pinch of salt might sound strange in a cocktail, but it really brings out the flavour of the pineapple and bitters. 

The JLF Bourbon Stir Down 

50ml Maker's Mark
10ml Campari
15ml UE Pineapple Gum
3 dashes Peychauds Bitters
3 dashes Mr Bitters Smoked Hickory Bitters
Large pinch of salt

Stir down and serve over fresh ice in a tumbler. Garnish with a pineapple spear and orange twist.