The usual mistake with New Year's Eve whiskey cocktails is ambition. Someone plans six drinks, buys eleven bottles, and spends the last hour of the year measuring things with their back to the room. A short menu works better: one sparkling drink for the toast and three stirred ones that share the same method. All four below are built on whiskey and a half ounce of syrup, starting with Traditional Proof Syrup, so there is very little to remember by eleven o'clock.
What Makes a Great New Year's Eve Whiskey Cocktail
It has to be good, and it has to be fast to make while you are talking to someone. Those two requirements usually pull against each other, and the sweetener is where they meet.
In an Old Fashioned, the sweetener slot normally holds a sugar cube, a few dashes of bitters, and the muddling that goes with them. That is three steps and a good deal of variation from glass to glass. A syrup with the bitters already cooked in fills the slot in one pour. The drink becomes whiskey, syrup, ice and a peel, and the tenth one tastes like the first.
The other thing a party drink needs is a reason to exist at midnight. Whiskey people rarely want a flute of plain sparkling wine, and the toast still calls for bubbles. A sparkling-topped Old Fashioned settles the matter.
The Anchor Drink: Sparkling Old Fashioned
This borrows its shape from the classic Champagne Cocktail, which is sugar, bitters and sparkling wine. Here the whiskey and syrup are stirred cold first, then topped. It is lighter than a standard Old Fashioned and drier than it sounds.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 oz bourbon or rye
- 1/2 oz Traditional Proof Syrup
- 3 oz dry sparkling wine, well chilled
- Orange peel, for garnish
Instructions
- Chill a coupe or flute in the freezer for ten minutes, or fill it with ice water while you work.
- Add the whiskey and syrup to a mixing glass with ice and stir for about 20 seconds.
- Strain into the chilled glass.
- Top slowly with the sparkling wine. Pour down the side of the glass so it keeps its fizz.
- Express the orange peel over the top and drop it in.
Use a dry wine labelled brut. The syrup supplies the sweetness, and a sweeter wine will tip the drink over. There is no need for an expensive bottle, since the whiskey does most of the talking.
Why the Sweetener Matters
Sparkling wine thins a drink out. A plain white-sugar simple syrup sweetens it and adds nothing else, so the result can taste like whiskey and soda with a sugar problem. Proof Syrup is made in small batches with raw cane sugar, which gives it more body and a rounder finish, and the aromatic bitters cooked into it carry the spice that would otherwise come from a separate bottle.
For a host, the practical part matters as much. The standard pour is 1/2 oz of syrup to 2 oz of whiskey, and a bottle makes about 32 cocktails. One bottle of Traditional covers the toast for a decent-sized room, with some left for January.
Variations: The Rest of the Menu
Each of these is stirred over ice in a rocks glass. If you can make one, you can make all three.
Black Walnut Old Fashioned
Ingredients
- 2 oz bourbon
- 1/2 oz Black Walnut Proof Syrup
- Orange peel
Nutty and a little darker than the original. This is the one people ask about.
Best for: the stretch after dinner, and guests who already know what they like in a bourbon.
Maple Bacon Old Fashioned
Ingredients
- 2 oz bourbon
- 1/2 oz Maple Bacon Proof Syrup
- Orange peel, or a strip of crisp bacon if you are feeling generous
Sweet, smoky and savory. Note for the label card: this syrup is not vegan.
Best for: the late shift, when the snacks have run low and somebody mentions breakfast.
Orange Whiskey Highball
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 oz bourbon or rye
- 1/2 oz Orange Proof Syrup
- 4 oz chilled soda water
- Orange wheel
Build it in a tall glass over ice and stir once. It is the lowest-strength drink on the menu, which is useful on a long night.
Best for: early arrivals and anyone pacing themselves.
A Manhattan, If You Planned Ahead
Ingredients
- 2 oz rye or bourbon
- 1 oz Manhattan Proof Syrup, adjusted to taste
- Cocktail cherry
The Manhattan syrup is a limited release available on pre-order and ships early December. It is made with Italian sweet vermouth and aromatic bitters, so you add whiskey and a cherry. Stir with ice and strain into a chilled coupe. There is more detail in our Manhattan recipe.
Best for: the guest who orders a Manhattan everywhere.
Technique Tips for a Crowd
Batch the base before anyone arrives
For the sparkling drink, combine whiskey and syrup at three parts to one and keep the bottle in the fridge. Twelve drinks is 18 oz of whiskey and 6 oz of syrup. At midnight, pour 2 oz of the cold mix into each glass and top with wine. No stirring, no ice, no queue. Our guide to big-batch Old Fashioneds covers the stirred drinks.
Keep everything colder than seems necessary
Warm sparkling wine foams over and goes flat. Chill the wine, the batch and the glasses. A sink full of ice does the job if the fridge is taken up with food.
Cut the peels in the afternoon
Peel the oranges a few hours ahead and keep the strips in a sealed container in the fridge, under a damp paper towel. They hold up fine for an evening and save you from handling a peeler at 11:55.
Write the menu down
Four drinks on a card by the bar means guests choose without asking you to recite the list. It also lets a willing friend take over the pouring, because every drink is the same half ounce of syrup.
Stock the Bar Before the 31st
A menu this short needs one whiskey you like, a few bottles of brut, a bag of oranges and the syrups. Pick the flavors you want from the Old Fashioned syrup collection, or see everything at the full shop. Then make the batch, chill the glasses, and spend midnight on the right side of the bar.
