I love the holidays, and from time to time I enjoy a nice cocktail!
My all time favorite cocktail is an old fashioned.
Bourbon is my drink of choice, and an old fashioned is my favorite way to partake.
Recently I learned that chocolate whisky is a thing! And I got really, really, really excited….oh the possibilities!
I had to track some down in our town but found some Ballottin Original Chocolate Whisky at Total Wine.
I had been wanting to create a signature Hanukkah cocktail for a while and was racking my brain for an idea. Blue was the obvious choice but truth be told I am not a blue cocktail kind of gal. I really don’t like overly sweet drinks and pretty much steer clear of all unnaturally colored cocktails.
Like I said, I am a bourbon girl.
So my next thought because we are taking Hanukkah here, went to gelt. Which then went to chocolate, which led me to this new amazing discovery of chocolate whisky, and a lightbulb went off!!
And that my friends is how the Old Fashioned Gelt Digger was born.
I have a big love for all things chocolate orange and so it only made sense to add chocolate to and old fashioned.
This drink is also pretty. I like pretty drinks, and since this is in honor or Hanukkah, it needed to be sparkly! And because we are talking gelt here, it needed to have some shiny gold in it as well. After all it is called a gold, I mean GELT digger. It’s in the name.
There are lots of brands of vegan sprinkles out there these days. I am a fan of Fancy Sprinkles has going on with lots of fun vegan metallics! They have gold and silver hex shapes, stars, and prism dusts, and so many other fun sprinkles. Wiltons peal dust (except pink) is always a safe choice as well. Also, coarse raw vegan cane sugar could work just as well or vegan sanding sugar for a bit of sparkle.
I used Ovation Dark Chocolate Orange slices (found them at Walmart) for my garnish because I could not track down vegan gelt. It does exists! Just not locally for us. But you can order vegan or allergy friendly gelt from several places online!
Would I still drink this old fashioned sans the glitter and gold? Yes, yes I would. Thank you for asking. Would I dare serve it at Hanukkah or even New Years Eve without some sparkle? No, absolutely not! I am a fancy souther lady after all, and have my standards.
So if you are looking for a fun Hanukkah cocktail, or even a tasty New Years Eve or “anytime really” cocktail, and you love bourbon, you must try and Old Fashioned Gelt Digger..and if you don’t Hanukkah and want to call it an Old Fashioned Gold digger, I won’t be made at you. But it’s way less funny!
Cheers y’all!
INGREDIENTS:
1 oz chocolate whisky (we used Ballotin Original Chocolate)
1 oz rye bourbon (we used Bulleit Rye)
2 teaspoons simple syrup ( 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water boiled until sugar has dissolved. Allow to cool and store in fridge)
3 shakes orange bitters
Orange peel and Vegan Chocolate orange slice or chocolate gelt coin to garnish
Gold or silver vegan luster dust/pearl dust , sprinkles or sugar for the rim
INSTRUCTIONS:
Fill a shallow bowl with a little simple syrup. Add some sprinkles, and sugar to a small plate.
Dip the rim of a whisky glass in the simple syrup, shake off the excess. Dip the rim of the glass in the plate of sprinkles/ sugar to coat.
Add ice to the glass then pour the chocolate whisky and bourbon over the ice.
Shake in some orange bitter and stir in simple syrup.
Add a twist of orange peel.
If you want to add a chocolate orange slice or vegan chocolate gelt to the rim, run a sharp knife under really hot water for minute. Once the knife blade has heated up, wipe the water from the blade and carefully sort of saw into the chocolate making a wedge large enough to sit on the rim of the glass. The hot knife will melt the chocolate as you cut into it. Be careful not to saw in too hard, it will break the chocolate.
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