Today is National Old-Fashioned Day. In my drinky opinion, there’s no better whiskey cocktail than the old-fashioned. It’s simple: whiskey, sugar, bitters, and orange — and a cherry, pretty please. Since the cocktail is a classic, it’s on the menu at practically any bar.
The old-fashioned cocktail is like the little black dress of whiskey drinks: versatile, stands the test of time, and is easy to dress up or keep simple. Obviously, in a drink with no gimmicky ingredients, the whiskey is most important part, but the ice, what sort of sugar, which bitters, and whether it’s a slice of orange or a peel can impact the taste and, ultimately, the experience of the old-fashioned.
From Bentley’s Pub to Watson’s Shack & Rail, here are eight takes on the old-fashioned cocktail across Champaign-Urbana.
Bentley’s Pub
This old-fashioned ($7) from Bentley’s Pub comes with a fire show; I love the dramatic burst of fire when the bartender flames the orange peel over the drink before dropping it in the glass. This old-fashioned is just a vehicle for enjoying the hell out of the bar’s house-infused tart cherry whiskey. The whole sip — from start to finish — was delicious whiskey with juicy notes of cherry pie, balanced nicely by the Angostura bitters and brown sugar simple syrup. There’s no cherry garnish here; the cherries my bartender muddled at the start of the drink and the cherry-infused whiskey covered for the usual garnish.
Bentley’s Pub
419 N Neil St
Champaign
3 p.m. to 2 a.m.
Bunny’s Tavern
At Bunny’s Tavern in Urbana, I ordered an old-fashioned ($7). Here, there’s no set whiskey for the old-fashioned; it’s drinker’s choice. I went with Maker’s Mark from the bar’s list of whiskeys. Bunny’s made their version with a slice of orange and a cherry at the bottom of the glass. This old-fashioned was mostly bourbon and tasted super strong. The drink’s boozy burn was barely balanced by sweetness from the orange slice, and though a peel is preferred, Bunny’s is a casual tavern, so I didn’t really expect a peel here. As the ice melted, the intense bourbon flavor mellowed a little. Points off for a maraschino cherry, but this version was still a pretty good way to sip whiskey.
Bunny’s Tavern
1119 W Water St
Urbana
Su-Th 7 a.m. to midnight
F+Sa 7 a.m. to 1 a.m.
Hamilton Walker’s
Now this was an old-fashioned cocktail. With a choice between house or well, I went with the house old-fashioned ($14) which had Buffalo Trace bourbon, bitters, demerara, orange peel, and a Luxardo cherry on a bamboo pick. The well version ($9) has Evan Williams bourbon, bitters, and simple syrup.
This drink was flawlessly balanced. The demerara (a raw sugar extracted from sugarcane) made the drink a little sweeter with a toffee vim that harmonized with the aged bourbon. The cherry bark bitters cut the sweetness of the cane sugar, and because this drink was made with a nice bourbon, the whiskey tasted so smooth — and the elegant, thin lip of the glass made this old-fashioned feel posh.
Hamilton Walker’s
201 N Neil St
Champaign
Su-Th 4 to 8 p.m.
F+Sa 4 to 8:30 p.m.
Pour Bros Craft Taproom
Downtown Champaign’s Pour Bros Craft Taproom has a 217 old-fashioned ($9) on the cocktail menu. Made with Bulleit bourbon, orange bitters, simple syrup, a pretty curled orange peel, and a Luxardo cherry on top, this one was really smooth. The drink had no bourbon bite, just a silky, round taste from the first sip. This 217 old-fashioned was well-balanced, not too sweet, and the orange bitters added a nice depth of flavor to the cocktail, so it wasn’t just sweetened whiskey. It was quite tasty to drink — which surprised me for a bar that specializes in taps of pour-your-own beer.
Pour Bros Craft Taproom
40 E University Ave
Champaign
M 5 to 11 p.m.
T-Th 3 to 11 p.m.
F+Sa noon to 1 a.m.
Su noon to 10 p.m.
Punch! Bar & Lounge
Garnished with a Luxardo cherry and an orange peel, Punch! Bar’s old-fashioned ($14) uses a house blend of over thirty whiskeys including bourbon, rye, and Irish whiskey, and the solera concoction subtly evolves over time, so that what you order one month might be every-so-slightly different the next month. The first sips served a strong whiskey flavor balanced by soft sweetness from a sugar cube and complexity of the Angostura bitters. The big, caramelized boozy taste mellowed as the branded ice cube melted, and I really liked the spectrum of whiskey notes of the bar’s infinity blend: from slightly spicy and herbaceous to stone-fruit flavor.
Punch! Bar & Lounge
217 N Neil Street
Champaign
Su-Th 4 to 10 p.m.
F+Sa 4 p.m. to midnight
Sunsinger Restaurant
So, the old-fashioned cocktail is not actually printed on the menu at Sunsinger, but they used to have a few versions on the menu (as recently as April) including one made with rum, a reposado tequila version, and a chocolate old-fashioned. When I went two nights ago, the bartender said she could make any of the old-fashioneds from previous menus, but I ordered Sunsinger’s take on the regular ole old-fashioned ($8.75).
Made with whiskey, Angostura bitters, orange peel, and two(!) Luxardo cherries on a toothpick, this drink tasted good. The pour of spicy rye whiskey made this a suitable sipping cocktail. Strong and squiffy, this old-fashioned was not at all something to hurry through. If you want to be a rule-breaker, order Sunsinger’s secret-menu carda-rum old-fashioned, which has rum, orange liqueur, and cardamom, and is a yummy rum take on the classic drink.
Sunsinger Restaurant
1115 W Windsor
Champaign
M-Th 10:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
F 10:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Sa 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Su 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The Space Restaurant
The new Downtown Champaign restaurant and music venue The Space has a small drink menu including Jeppson’s Malört on tap. I ordered The Space’s bold-fashioned ($11), which had Jeppson’s 100-proof bourbon, chile liqueur, simple syrup, and bitters with an orange peel and not much ice — and it tasted fierce. The drink’s burn mainly came from the high-proof whiskey, but the peppery liqueur kicked it up a notch. Though it’s a little one note, the drink’s bold, spicy taste delivered on the name of the cocktail. This old-fashioned smoldered without stinging, and it’s my favorite thing to pair with the restaurant’s deliciously indulgent smashburgers.
The Space
1 E Main St
Champaign
W 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Th-Sa 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Watson’s Shack & Rail
Lastly, I ordered Watson’s old-fashioned ($12), made with Rowan’s Creek bourbon and garnished with an orange slice and a Luxardo cherry on a red chicken toothpick. This version was smooth, boozy, and delicious. Starting a little sweet and juicy, the drink finished strong with a whiskey bang. The bourbon’s big, spice-forward taste was balanced by the orange and melting ice cubes, and it was excellent to savor at the cool restaurant alongside their fried chicken. I was very into this old-fashioned’s getup: a sexy, curvy glass and a cute, themed toothpick, too.
Watson’s Shack & Rail
211 N Neil St
Champaign
M 4 to 9 p.m.
T-Sa 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Su 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. + 4 to 9 p.m.
