Pine Needle Old Fashioned
Warm bourbon layered with bright citrus, subtle evergreen, and a hint of resinous pine. Cozy and woodsy, it’s the perfect festive winter cocktail.
Servings: 1 cocktail
Equipment
- Lowball glass
Ingredients
Pine Needle Syrup
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup fresh edible conifer needles
Pine Old Fashioned
- 2 ounces bourbon
- 1-2 teaspoons pine needle syrup cooled
- 2-3 dashes orange bitters
- orange peel and/or pine twig to garnish, optional
Instructions
- Make the pine needle syrup. Combine ½ cup sugar and ½ cup water in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add ¼ cup pine needles. Bring to a boil, then turn heat down. Simmer for 3-5 minutes, or until sugar is fully dissolved. Remove from heat, cover with a lid, and steep 10-15 minutes. Strain out conifer needles and allow syrup to cool completely before using.
- Make the old fashioned. Pour 2 oz bourbon, 1-2 tsp cooled pine syrup, and a few dashes of orange bitters into a glass with ice. Stir until chilled.Strain into a lowball glass over a large ice cube or sphere.
- Optional: squeeze a strip of orange peel over the glass to express the oils onto the drink, then garnish with the orange peel and/or a small (edible) conifer twig.
Notes
Sweeten to taste with the pine needle syrup.
Bitters: Use any bitters your prefer. Orange bitters will keep this cocktail light and bright and allow the pine needle flavor to come through more. Aromatic or Angostura bitters will give the drink a warmer, richer flavor.
Pine needle syrup: This batch size makes about 1/2 cup of syrup. Feel free to half or double the syrup recipe depending on how many drinks you need to make.