My spirit of choice is most often bourbon, and I like to drink it in a perfect Manhattan or an old fashioned. I drink Manhattans more often at home because they don’t involve muddling or cutting fruit.

I’m slowly starting to stretch my cocktail skills a bit. An old fashioned is a great place to start. It’s composed of sugar, bitters and a spirit. Change any one of those to your taste, and it’s a different drink (sometimes very different).

I decided to stick with bourbon (I used W.L. Weller, a wheated bourbon) and Angostura bitters, but since I’m always looking for ways to incorporate honey into cocktails, why not use honey sryup instead of sugar? It adds a nice flavor, a bit of sweetness, and there’s no undissolved sugar left in the bottom of the drink. I kind of love this drink.

For the honey syrup, just mix equal parts honey and water, warm in a saucepan to mix it all together, and store in the refrigerator.

Honey Old Fashioned
Makes 1 drink

Ingredients:
1/2 oz. honey syrup
3-4 dashes Angostura bitters
2 oz. bourbon
Fat lemon peel

Instructions:
Combine the honey syrup and Angostura bitters in an old fashioned glass. Stir to combine. Add the bourbon, then ice. Stir, and garnish with a fat lemon peel, squeezing the peel over the drink first to release some of the oils.

• Honey Old Fashioned