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An Oaxaca Old Fashioned cocktail in front of a picture of David Bowie.

Oaxaca Old Fashioned

Print Recipe
You can make an Old Fashioned out of pretty much anything. While the traditional Old Fashioned is Bourbon based, the formula for any Old Fashioned is base spirit, some sort of sweetener (like Simple Syrup), and some bitters.
Sometimes also called a Mezcal Old Fashioned, The Oaxaca Old Fashioned takes this simple formula and brings a little bit more to the party by using not only Tequila as a base spirit but Mezcal as well. So the Oaxaca Old Fashioned/Mezcal Old Fashioned uses a bit of Mezcal and a bit of Tequila as well. It's a really good combination! Rather than a basic sweetener like Simple Syrup, this recipe uses Agave Nectar instead. These changes, although small, add up to some drastic differences in taste that give this classic cocktail style a very Mexican feeling to it.
If you frequently drink an Old Fashioned, perhaps it's time to change things up a little bit with a different base spirit and a different flavour profile. Perhaps the Oaxaca Old Fashioned is for you!
Total Time 3 minutes
Servings 1 cocktail

Ingredients

  • 45 mL Tequila Reposado or any other Tequila if you prefer
  • 15 mL Mezcal
  • 10 mL Agave Nectar
  • 2 dashes Angostura Bitters
  • Garnish with an orange peel

Instructions

  • Build this cocktail in a Rocks or Old Fashioned glass by adding Tequila, Mezcal, Agave Nectar, and Bitters to the glass with a large ice cube.
  • Stir everything well to ensure the drink is chilled and the ingredients thoroughly mixed together.
  • Garnish and serve.

Notes

Since you can Old Fashioned anything, adding a bit of sugar and bitters to neat Tequila and/or Mezcal probably isn't an extremely new idea. However, the newer idea is the mixture of both Tequila and Mezcal in a balanced acted of flavours. To this end, the Oaxaca Old Fashioned gives credit to New York bartender Phil Ward who invented this drink in 2007 at Death and Co.
Try this cocktail recipe with a variety of different Tequilas and Mezcals. Like good Scotch, these spirits can have wildly different flavours to them and different combinations may work better than others. So have fun with this one!