There is a certain kind of guy who will tell you the Old Fashioned is sacred ground. Whiskey only. No substitutions. He usually says this while holding a drink he ordered because Don Draper ordered it first.
We used to be that guy. Then we made one with 1800 Añejo instead of bourbon, and suddenly the Old Fashioned had a whole new dimension we hadn’t considered.
Same language, different accent
The Old Fashioned is not really a whiskey drink. It’s a spirit-forward drink that happens to have been made with whiskey for most of its life. Sugar, bitters, ice, and something with backbone. That’s the whole recipe. The spirit just has to hold the moment.
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1800 Añejo holds that moment.
It starts with blue Weber agave, matured for 8 to 10 years in the highlands of Jalisco. The agave is slow-roasted, then copper-still distilled before being aged for over a year in American and French oak barrels.
That’s the same oak that gives bourbon its caramel and vanilla. You’re not asking tequila to replace whiskey. You’re discovering that the same craftsmanship and patience you already respect exists in a spirit you probably haven’t explored.
Where bourbon goes heavy and sweet, the 1800 Añejo brings roasted agave underneath the oak. It reads as cooked, earthy, a little savoury. Your palate expects one thing and gets something with more corners.
Why this is the perfect winter drink, full stop
This is a slow drink. You stir it, you don’t shake it, and you sip it while the ice gives up ground over twenty minutes. It’s built for a cold night, a heavy glass, and having nowhere in particular to be.
The Añejo adds another layer of warmth. That toasted oak and cooked agave do the same thing a fire does. There’s a low heat to it that sits alongside bourbon as a genuine equal, and it lands right when the temperature finally drops below fifteen degrees, and everyone remembers they own a jumper.
How to make the best Old Fashioned you’ll make this year
Keep it simple. This is a drink that punishes fiddling.
You’ll need the following:
- 60ml 1800 Añejo
- 7.5ml agave syrup (about a bar spoon, and yes, agave to match the agave)
- 2 dashes Angostura Orange Bitters
- 1 large ice cube
- 1 strip of orange peel
The method:
Add the agave syrup and both bitters to a rocks glass. Pour in a splash of the tequila and stir until the syrup lets go and dissolves.
Drop in one big ice cube. Small cubes melt fast and water the whole thing down, and you did not use good tequila to drink a puddle.
Add the remaining 1800 Añejo. Stir gently for around thirty seconds to chill it and bring the elements together.
Take the orange peel, hold it skin-side down over the glass, and give it a firm pinch so the oil sprays across the surface. Wipe it round the rim, drop it in, and you’re done.
You can grab a bottle of 1800 Añejo from Dan Murphy’s here and have the whole thing built before the kettle would’ve boiled.
