LUCKY BUTTER OLD FASHIONED
LUCKY BUTTER OLD FASHIONED
It’s rich, silky, slightly malty, and absolutely nails the “Irish dessert but make it boozy” vibe.
This recipe and photography is courtesy of @highproofpreacher. Give him a follow!!Every once in a while, a cocktail hits that perfect intersection of fun technique, decadent flavor, and actually doable at home.
The Lucky Butter Old Fashioned checks all three boxes: Irish whiskey fat-washed in brown butter, Guinness Demerara syrup, aromatic bitters, and an orange peel. It’s rich, silky, toasty, and low-key tastes like someone convinced St. Patrick to start a cocktail program.
INGREDIENTS
2 oz brown butter–fat washed Irish whiskey (recipe below)
¼–½ oz Guinness Demerara syrup
4-5 dashes aromatic bitters (cardamom bitters would be lovely here)
Garnish with an orange peel
TOOLS & GLASSWARE
Mixing glass
Barspoon
Strainer
Old Fashioned glass with BFC
PREPARATION
Stir with ice and strain over a big cube
Express an orange peel over the glass and drop it in
Brown Butter–Fat Washed Whiskey
Fat-washing sounds "uppity," and honestly kinda weird sometimes, but it’s one of the simplest cocktail techniques out there. You’re infusing the whisky (or your spirit of choice) with the flavor of browned Irish butter, then freezing it so the fat solidifies and separates cleanly. It takes a bit of time, but overall is pretty easy to do.
What You’ll Need
750 ml Irish whisky (I went with Jameson Black Barrel)
2–3 tablespoons browned Irish butter (I used salted Kerrygold for a richer, toastier flavor; use unsalted if you want a gentler finish)
1 large jar with a tight seal
Freezer
Coffee filter (saturated with water before using)
Preparation
Brown the butter:
Heat the butter in a small pan until golden, nutty, and aromatic. Let it cool slightly.
Combine:
Add the butter to your jar, then pour in the whiskey. Seal and shake gently.
Infuse at room temp:
Let it sit at room temperature for 1–2 hours, shaking occasionally. This is where most of the flavor transfer happens.
Freeze:
Move the sealed jar to the freezer overnight.
Optional trick: Flip the jar upside down. This causes the fat to freeze into a firm layer at the bottom, making it incredibly easy to pour out the whiskey the next day.
Strain for clarity:
Pour the whiskey through a water-saturated coffee filter.
(Saturating the filter prevents it from absorbing your spirit, plus the any small fat particules will "cling" to the filter.)
Store:
Bottle your fat-washed whiskey and keep it in the fridge.
