Blackwater Old Fashion Recipe

Chill glass

Place an old fashioned glass in the freezer for a few minutes or fill with ice water while you prepare the cocktail to slightly chill it.

Using a peeler or channel knife cut a 1½" strip of orange peel. Set aside the peel and an extra cherry for garnish.

In the mixing glass, add the 2 pitted Luxardo cherries and the orange peel (reserve one twist piece for garnish; use the remainder for muddling). Add 0.25 oz simple syrup and 2 dashes Angostura bitters.

Gently muddle the cherries and orange peel 6–8 times: press to release juices and oils but don't pulverize — you want aromatic orange oil and cherry juice without turning the mixture into a paste.

Add 2 oz Truman whisky, 0.5 oz Cointreau, and 0.5 oz sweet vermouth into the mixing glass.

Fill the mixing glass with large ice (or regular ice) and stir steadily with a bar spoon for about 25–30 seconds (20–30 revolutions) until well chilled and properly diluted.

Discard the ice or water from the chilled rocks glass. Using a hawthorne strainer, double-strain the cocktail into the chilled rocks glass over a large ice cube or sphere to keep the drink cold and slow-diluting. Double-strain helps keep cherry pulp out of the final pour.

Express the reserved orange twist over the drink by holding it with the peel facing down and giving it a firm twist to release oils onto the surface, then rub the peel on the glass rim and drop it into the drink.

Garnish with one maraschino/brandied cherry on a pick. Optionally, add the muddled cherry pieces into the glass if you prefer more fruit presence.

Serve immediately. Sip and enjoy — the Blackwater Old Fashion should present whisky-forward notes with bright orange-laced sweetness and a hint of vermouth complexity.