Charred 'slow Drip' Recipe

Prepare oak and toast

Lightly char or toast the oak chips: hold oak chips with tongs and briefly pass over an open flame or use a kitchen torch until they darken and release a toasted aroma (about 10–20 seconds). Do not burn to ash.

Combine and macerate

Place charred oak chips, toasted coffee beans, and orange peel into a clean, airtight glass jar. Pour 3 cups (720 ml) of bourbon over the solids, ensuring they are fully submerged. Seal the jar.

Slow-drip style aging

Let the jar sit at room temperature for 12 hours, gently inverting the jar once after 6 hours to redistribute contact. This short infusion mimics a slow-drip profile by allowing controlled extraction of char, coffee, and citrus oils without over-extracting tannins.

Strain and rest

After 12 hours, strain the infusion through a fine mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth or a coffee filter into a clean container. Discard solids. Let the infused bourbon rest for 30 minutes to allow any fine sediment to settle, then decant off clear liquid. Chill if you prefer a cooler cocktail base.

Combine 1 cup turbinado sugar and 1 cup filtered water in a small saucepan. Add the split vanilla bean if using (scrape seeds into pot and toss pod in). Heat over medium, stirring until sugar fully dissolves and the mixture just reaches a simmer (do not boil vigorously). Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.

Once cool, strain out vanilla pod and transfer syrup to a clean bottle. Refrigerate. Syrup will keep for up to 2 weeks.

If using smoked salt on the glass rim, moisten the edge of an old-fashioned glass with the expressed orange oil or a tiny water touch; dip rim into a plate with a pinch of smoked sea salt and set aside.

In a mixing glass, add 2 oz of the chilled slow-drip charred bourbon, 0.25 oz housemade turbinado simple, and 3 dashes of aromatic bitters.

Add plenty of ice to the mixing glass and stir gently for 20–30 seconds until well chilled and slightly diluted (target about 20–25% dilution by volume for balance).

Strain into the prepared old-fashioned glass over a single large ice cube or sphere.

Express the orange peel over the drink by holding it over the glass and giving it a firm squeeze to release oils, then rub the peel on the glass rim and drop the twist into the drink as garnish.

Optionally, finish by flaming the orange peel briefly over the drink (carefully) to caramelize the oils, or smoke the cocktail with a cloche or smoking gun for an added char aroma.