Fancy Free
A forgotten gem from the Old Fashioned family: bourbon, maraschino liqueur, and a double-bitters finish that's clean and quietly complex.
Ingredients
- 2 oz bourbon
- 0.5 oz maraschino liqueur
- 1 dash Angostura bitters
- 1 dash orange bitters
- Orange twist, to garnish
Instructions
- 1Add bourbon, maraschino, and both bitters to a mixing glass with ice.
- 2Stir until well chilled.
- 3Strain into a rocks glass over a large ice cube and garnish with an orange twist.
Origin & Story
The Fancy Free appears in David Embury's influential 1948 book The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks, where it exemplifies Embury's philosophy that cocktails should be spirit-forward and only lightly sweetened. By substituting maraschino liqueur for sugar and adding a split-bitters finish, it transforms the Old Fashioned into something more aromatic and layered without losing any of its directness.
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