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This sweet Old Fashioned Cocktail gets a slightly sweeter treatment with grenadine and simple syrup. Great with brandy or whiskey!

Oh boy. For those of you who watch The Walking Dead on AMC, I need to vent little bit. If you don’t, please, scroll on and save yourself the frustration I’ve been fuming about. Two nights ago, we had the season finale. And there was the highly anticipated introduction of a new character, one that is pretty important in the comic books that the show is based on. So this guy shows up, and he’s pretty awesome. And a little insane. So insane that he’s supposed to kill off a main character upon first meeting him.

This is really a terribly kept secret since the show mostly follows the plot line of the comic books.  But then, the camera doesn’t really show it. So we’re left (for the next six months) wondering what happened! Did he kill him? Did he not? Or did the guys who run this show decide to mess with us and have him off someone else? Because they do that sometimes. Nobody knows.

Old Fashioned Sweet Cocktail

Where am I getting at this? After getting drug through an hour and half season finale that was as tense as a bowstring, then being left wondering what actually happened, I needed a dang drink. But, it was 11:30 PM on a work night when we finished watching it, so that wasn’t a reasonable option.

So, I just laid in bed and stewed about it for an hour before I could finally settle down and sleep! I was still pretty wound up about it when I got home from work the next day, and so was my husband (and millions of others who are now vowing to not watch the show). So, we commiserated over an Old Fashioned cocktail (for me), and whiskey, neat (for him). 

Whiskey Old Fashioned Sweet

I first experienced this cocktail when visiting friends in Wisconsin. I had never had an Old Fashioned, much less a Sweet Old Fashioned. In Wisconsin, they like to make Old Fashioned cocktails with brandy instead of whiskey. I still use whiskey quite a bit, but brandy is great too. If you want to add extra depth of flavor, make your own brown sugar simple syrup for this cocktail recipe! And, they add a splash of sugar or simple syrup and grenadine.

MUCH more my style than the traditional Old Fashioned, which is quite strong, but still not too sweet. Wisconsin has a lot of traditions that I love, like these Sweet Old Fashioneds. They also fry cheese curds (um, yum), have Friday fish fries year round, and serve sidecars of beer with Bloody Marys! 

Whiskey Old Fashioned Sweet

Have you ever had an Old Fashioned cocktail? How about a Sweet Old Fashioned? And don’t even get me started again on The Walking Dead finale… I’m finally starting to move on! 

Old Fashioned Sweet- Wisconsin Style Cocktail Recipe

Old Fashioned Cocktail (Wisconsin Style Sweet)

4 from 3 votes
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Author: Michelle

Ingredients

  • 1 oz brandy or whiskey
  • 1 tsp simple syrup
  • 5 drops bitters
  • 2 oz 7-Up or other lemon lime soda
  • 1 splash grenadine syrup

Instructions

  • Combine all ingredients and serve over ice. Garnish with orange wedge or cherries.

Nutrition

Serving: 1
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