The 1806 definition of a cocktail says spirits of any kind. It does not say whiskey. Whiskey’s monopoly on this drink is a 20th-century American development, not a founding condition — so an aged-rum Old Fashioned is not a deviation, it is the original terms honoured.
⭐ Demerara rum is the natural fit. It is molasses-deep and brown-sugar-rich, it is made for demerara syrup, and it takes a heavy hand of Angostura — which is itself a Caribbean product, so the whole drink comes from roughly the same place.
This is one of the best variations in the family and one of the least ordered.
Ingredients
- 2 oz aged demerara rum (Guyana — El Dorado 12 or similar)
- 1/3 oz Simple Syrup, Rich Demerara
- 3 dashes Angostura bitters
- 1 dash allspice (pimento) bitters
- 1 wide strip orange peel
- 1 large clear ice cube
Directions
- Bitters and demerara syrup into the glass; stir together.
- Add the rum, stir a couple of turns.
- Large cube in, stir 20–30 seconds.
- Taste before garnishing.
- Express the orange peel over the surface, wipe the rim, drop it in. A lime peel instead of orange is the interesting alternative here and worth trying once.
Notes
Other rums that work:
· Aged Jamaican brings hogo — the funky overripe-fruit ester character from long fermentation. Smith & Cross at 114 proof makes a fierce, wonderful drink. Take the dilution seriously. · Rhum agricole (Martinique, distilled from cane juice rather than molasses) is grassy and vegetal and makes something that is unmistakably not a whiskey drink. · Light Spanish-style aged rums are generally too polite for this format.
Skip the spiced rum. It is already sweetened and already spiced, so you end up fighting your own syrup and bitters.