Top 12 Old Overholt Cocktails to Drink

This classic three-ingredient Old Overholt Cocktail combines Old Overholt with simple syrup and angostura bitters on the rocks. The balance of sweet and bitter is the best flavor profile to accentuate the dry smokiness of this iconic rye whiskey variety. It is essentially a Manhattan that substitutes sweet vermouth for simple syrup.

For a spirit-forward cocktail, the Rituals House Manhattan centers around Old Overholt. The sweet vermouth and angostura bitters round out this three-ingredient cocktail with an inherently alcoholic flavor and a super-dry finish. The best part is that juicy and sweet Luxardo cherry garnish!

Another classic whiskey cocktail, this Rye Old Fashioned is elegant and complex, requiring you to make a single portion of simple syrup for each class using demerara sugar and hot water. The next step is adding the whiskey and orange and angostura bitters with some ice to a shaker. The infusion of warm simple syrup with alcoholic components is the key to a perfectly diffused sweetness.

Also known as the Cacophony cocktail, this old Overholt bonded straight rye whiskey cocktail is both a combination of the Manhattan and the Old fashioned, plus a decadent sherry and chocolate liqueur flavor boost. This is a very complex, multi-ingredient cocktail in which every ingredient is alcoholic. This is a one-and-done drink!

If you’re looking for a challenge, this highly technical cocktail uses an atomizer to add absinthe to each glass. The other ingredients are a classic combination of Old Overholt, simple syrup, and bitters. An atomizer brings out the fragrance and flavor of the aromatics inherent in absinthe and bitters. If an atomizer is too high-tech, you can simply stir all the ingredients together with ice.

A luxurious Old Overholt cocktail to enjoy as a tasty nightcap, Midnight Snack enriches the classic angostura bitters and rye pairing with lemon juice and snap liqueur. Snap liqueur tastes like concentrated gingersnap cookies, which transforms this rye whiskey cocktail into the height of late-night dessert booze.

This herbaceous whiskey drink is a hearty and spicy cocktail to warm you up in the winter. It combines rye whiskey with earthy fernet and sweet vermouth, receiving a much-needed sweet and juicy complement from pear syrup. This recipe requires you to make the pear syrup from scratch, using brown sugar, pears, and lemon juice.

Whether this cocktail is named for the historic Pennsylvania town is anyone’s guess. The Scranton uses two types of vermouth and equal parts gin and Old Overholt rye whiskey for a complex cocktail with botanical and citrus notes and a remarkably dry finish. It uses orange-flavored dry vermouth and sweet French vermouth to provide a sweeter version of the flavor profile you find in a Manhattan.

The Dead Rabbit’s Whiskey cocktail is an updated version of The Flowing Bowl cocktail, which originated during the same century as Old Overholt itself. It is an incredibly intense and intricate cocktail, using obscure ingredients like Benedictine, Absinthe, and Royal Combier. Benedictine and Royal Combier are herbaceous and aromatic liqueurs featuring over twenty different ingredients each, so you can imagine the depth of flavor involved in this very boozy cocktail.

A silly play-on-words to hint at its ingredients, The Old Sage combines Old Overholt with scratch-made sage simple syrup, bitters, and lemon juice for a delicious fall-inspired cocktail. Sage has a distinct herbal flavor that pairs well with whiskey’s spiciness and the bite of bitters. You can serve it to impress holiday party guests.

Finally, a sweet and fruity Old Overholt cocktail! As its name implies, A Whiskey and Rose cocktail combine Old Overholt and the sweet, pink Rose wine with homemade strawberry syrup and ruby red grapefruit juice, and Angostura bitters. This is a delicious punch bowl recipe that makes enough for a crowd.

The Witty Comeback is a sophisticated cocktail that blends rye whiskey with the Italian bitter Amaro. Whiskey’s spicey bite gets even spicier with the addition of scratch-made ginger simple syrup. The squeeze of lemon juice gives this spicey beverage a bright citrus note.