A friend of mine made a new cocktail:

The Ginger Old Fashioned If you like Old Fashioneds and you like ginger, stop reading and make one. Get the Recipe

Why I Tried This I love ginger. The bite, the aroma, the way it makes just about everything better. A few years back, I discovered Barrow’s Intense Ginger Liqueur while wandering Industry City in Brooklyn, and it immediately made me wonder: what happens if this replaces the sugar in an Old Fashioned? Turns out: very good things.

Did you try this recipe? Tips greatly appreciated! ​

How It Turned Out

Instead of simple syrup, this version leans on ginger liqueur for sweetness, letting rye do what rye does best—stay spicy and a little sharp. A heavy hand with orange bitters pulls everything together, landing somewhere familiar but quietly different.

Notes & Fine Tuning

• Barrow’s Intense Ginger Liqueur is ideal, but other ginger liqueurs may work—adjust sweetness accordingly.
• More ginger = more sweetness. Those sliders move together.
• Try it as a sour with ½ oz lemon juice.
• Rye is preferred, but a characterful bourbon works just fine.
• Angostura bitters are a solid fallback if orange isn’t handy.
• Garnish options: orange peel, burnt blood orange, or fresh ginger.

If you like Old Fashioneds and you like ginger, stop reading and make one. It’s classic-adjacent, a little boozy, and deeply satisfying—like realizing chocolate and peanut butter were always meant to meet.

Worth repeating? I’ll let you decide.

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