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Christmas Old Fashioned

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Author

Jessica Pinney

Published

Dec. 18, 2021

Updated

Mar. 7, 2024

This winter twist on an old fashioned combines seasonal flavors, like cranberry and pine, with whiskey. It’s the perfect Christmas cocktail to sip on by the fire this holiday season!

Overhead view of a lowball glass on a black background. It is filled half way with a reddish brown Christmas old fashioned liquid. It also has a large clear block of ice and a mini pine cone and small clipping from a Christmas tree as a garnish.

We’re always looking for new Christmas themed cocktails to add to our holiday drink rotation. In the past, we’ve made lighter drinks that were champagne and vodka based.

This year, we figured we’d lean into some that are bolder and smokier. Obviously, we were just looking for an excuse to drink more whiskey!

Since we’ve been on a kick making an apple old fashioned and a peach old fashioned, we thought it was appropriate to make one with a Christmas twist.

We used pine syrup in place of the traditional sugar cube and added a little cranberry juice. It’s like Christmas cheer in a cup!

To make it, all you’ll need is four ingredients and a lowball glass.

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Ingredients

Whiskey – Old fashioned cocktails are typically made with a rye whiskey and that’s what I used here. I think a bourbon would also work great. See our list of best whiskeys for an old fashioned.
Cranberry Juice – A little cranberry juice cocktail brings some Christmas flare. If you are using unsweetened cranberry juice, you probably want to add a bit of simple syrup.
Pine Syrup – I used pine syrup in place of sugar for this Christmas version. I bought this Maine pine syrup, but you can substitute another brand or even make your own.
Bitters – It isn’t an old fashioned without bitters! I used orange bitters, but you could substitute another kind you’d prefer.

Tips

Ice. Ideally, you want to use a large block or sphere of ice in this cocktail. Small pieces of ice melt faster, diluting your drink. You can easily make your own block ice at home with these inexpensive silicone molds.
Garnish. There are several different ways to garnish this cocktail. I chose to use a clipping from my Christmas tree and a preserved pine bud. You could garnish with fresh cranberries and a sprig of rosemary instead.
Big batch. You can easily make a large batch of this ahead of time to serve at gatherings. Just multiply the ingredient amounts below by the amount of cocktails you intend to serve. I store it in a 32oz mason jar in the fridge until time to pour.

A lowball glass on a black background is filled halfway with a reddish brown Christmas old fashioned. There is a large block of clear ice and a small pine cone and clipping from a Christmas as garnishes.

More Christmas Cocktails

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