El Abuelo Recipe
A bourbon Old Fashioned given a full measure of amaro, a spoon of rich demerara syrup, two bitters and a touch of salt — dark, herbal and rounded.
- Category: Popular
- Glass: Old fashioned glass
- ABV: 28%
- Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
- Bourbon60 ml (2 oz)
- Amaro30 ml (1 oz)
- Demerara syrup1 tsp
- Orange bitters1 dash
- Angostura bitters1 dash
- Saline solution2 drop
How to Make It
- Add all ingredients to a mixing glass with ice.
- Stir until well chilled and diluted.
- Strain into an old fashioned glass over one large ice cube.
- Express an orange peel over the drink and garnish with it and a sprig of thyme.
Garnish
Thyme sprig and orange peel
What it tastes like
It has a bitter backbone, it has a green, botanical backdrop and the spirit is right out front.
The technique
Stirring. All-spirit drinks are stirred — shaking whips air into them and ruins both the clarity and the texture. Thirty to forty seconds in a mixing glass, the spoon tracing the wall. You are after the same ~20% dilution, just slower and under control.
Glass and ice
A heavy-bottomed, wide old fashioned glass. Wide enough for one large cube, which is the point: a big cube has less surface area, so the drink gets cold without getting watery.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Bourbon
- American whiskey made from at least 51% corn and aged in new charred oak. The corn gives sweetness, the barrel vanilla; swap in rye and the drink turns noticeably spicier.
- Amaro
- The umbrella name for Italian bitter liqueurs, and no two are alike. Averna is sweet and caramelly, Fernet sharp and minty, Montenegro floral — which is why a recipe naming a brand means it.
- Demerara syrup
- A dark syrup made from demerara sugar. It carries a molasses note, which is why it stands in for simple syrup in whiskey and rum drinks; swapping the other way flattens them.
- Orange bitters
- Orange-peel bitters. Where Angostura brings spiced weight, this brings citrus lift; in gin and tequila drinks the two are not interchangeable.
- Angostura bitters
- The salt of the cocktail world. Measured in dashes, not millilitres: a few of them cut the sweetness and add spice. One bottle lasts years.
- Saline solution
- One part salt to five parts water. A few drops will not make the drink salty; they suppress bitterness and push the fruit forward — the same job salt does in food.
The Story
A recent Old Fashioned variation whose Spanish name means "the grandfather". The original sweetener is a house spiced brown-sugar syrup; plain demerara syrup stands in here.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a El Abuelo mixed?
- It is stirred and served in an old fashioned glass.
- How strong is a El Abuelo?
- Roughly 28% ABV as served — a spirit-strength drink — sipped slowly, and it wants a glass of water beside it.
- Can a El Abuelo be made without alcohol?
- Simply leaving the spirit out does not work — the body and the bitterness go with it. The 86 alcohol-free recipes in the catalogue are built to hit that balance from the start.
- Is a El Abuelo hard to make?
- Easy. No bar kit required — a measure, ice and a jar will do.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.