If you don’t have a muddler, don’t worry. In fact, to give a bit of added fruit flavor to the drink, some bartenders will muddle orange slices and cherries with the bitters and sugar. That’s how we prefer ours and the way we’ve crafted our recipe below. While the bubbly filler is up to your discretion, the orange and cherry garnish for a Wisconsin Brandy Old Fashioned is non-negotiable. Or, you can skip all the fanciness and simply add seltzer. You can also make it with sour mix or a sour soda (often Squirt), making it “sour.” You can get fancy, and make it “press,” with a combination of 7-up and seltzer. In Wisconsin, the default way to make a Brandy Old Fashioned is with a splash of Sprite or 7-up, making it “sweet.” (So much so, in fact, that Korbel still sells more brandy in Wisconsin than in any other individual state.) Brandy Old Fashioned Sweet or Sour? Korbel began pouring the classic “Old Fashioned” whiskey cocktail using brandy, and the German crowd from Milwaukee took to the brandy and the cocktail in a big way. A Brandy Old FashionedĪpparently at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893, a new brandy distiller from California called Korbel was sampling their spirits. But, as it grew in popularity, so did the variations.
The Old Fashioned started as a simple combination of Whisky, Angostura bitters, sugar, and water.
The Old Fashioned Cocktail takes up its place in the list of the most basic classic cocktails along with the Martini and the Manhattan. It’s so widely popular that native Wisconsinites refuse to believe that an Old Fashioned cocktail uses anything other than brandy. If you’ve spent any time in Wisconsin, and cocktails are your thing, then you’ve probably tasted the unofficial state cocktail, the Brandy Old Fashioned. Whether you like your Brandy Old Fashioned sweet or sour, this Wisconsin take on the classic cocktail is the perfect drink for sipping as you grill up some brats or enjoy a classic fish fry.