Evening in a Sugar Orchard

Photo by Michael Piazza / Styled by Catrine Kelty

This Old Fashioned variation was named after a Robert Frost poem and influenced by a New York City drink called the American Trilogy. Here, bourbon is bolstered by rich flavors from an aged rum and complemented by maple, cinnamon and bitters. While bourbons are generally consistent due to the laws regulating the spirit, rums can vary a lot. I developed this recipe with a local aged rum, Privateer New England Reserve, but I can see this recipe prospering with darker rums as well. Use what you have got and experiment over time.

Makes 1 cocktail

1½ ounces bourbon
1 ounce aged rum
¼ ounce maple syrup
¼ ounce cinnamon syrup (*)
2 dashes Angostura Bitters

Add all ingredients to a rocks glass, add ice (a large cube if you have one), and stir for 15–20 seconds to mix and chill. Garnish with an expressed orange twist.

(*) While cinnamon syrup is commercially available (find it at the Boston Shaker Store in Somerville or via their online portal), it is easily made. To make this syrup, break up a cinnamon stick in a measuring cup or similar, add ½ cup boiling water, and let steep for 10 minutes. Add in ½ cup sugar, stir to dissolve, cover, and let steep overnight. It should be ready to use in an hour or two but will not be as strong. Strain out the cinnamon stick bits, transfer to a bottle with a cap and refrigerate. Recipe is scalable for larger batches, and each batch is good for a month in the refrigerator.

This recipe appeared in the Spring 2023 issue as part of a larger story: Love and Maple Syrup.