How to make Wisconsin’s Cocktail: The Brandy Old Fashioned

Yesterday at the Old Sugar Distillery on Main Street the Friday after work cocktails were flowing. OSD offers a nice line-up of quality drinks to sip on a warm afternoon but we were curious about how they made Wisconsin’s Cocktail: The Brandy Old Fashioned.

The drink originated in New York City as early as 1855 and may have been named after a racing horse named “fashion”. While early recipes called for whiskey, Wisconsin folks started using Wisconsin brandy and thus the name was born.

Old Sugar Distillery bartender Chris was kind enough to walk us through how to make a proper Wisconsin Brady Old Fashioned using their in-house Brandy Station brandy made from grapes grown in Dane County.