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Seven Fashion-Forward Old Fashioneds Around Indy

Tradition may dictate bourbon, sugar, and fruit garnishes, but the muddled history of this drink that’s often synonymous with “cocktail” means the old fashioned is ripe for improvisation.
Wabash Old Fashioned from Hotel Indy's cocktail bar, Cannon Ball Lounge.

Wabash Old Fashioned from Cannon Ball Lounge.Photo courtesy Hotel Indy

Wabash Old Fash 

Cannon Ball Lounge

Rye mingles with rustic sorghum, local bitters, and Hotel Tango orangecello for a stout but sophisticated take on the classic brown drink served at Hotel Indy’s rooftop lounge. 141 E. Washington St., cannonballindy.com

Cognac Old Fashioned

Ball and Biscuit

Wisconsinites and other upper Midwest drinkers prefer brandy in their supper club Old Fashioneds, and the option with Pierre Ferrand 1840 cognac at Mass Ave’s king of cocktail bars comes closest to this slightly sweeter spin. 331 Massachusetts Ave., 317-636-0539, ballandbiscuit.com

Walk the Line

West Fork Whiskey

You can opt for a dessert-worthy peanut butter version or a barrel-aged revision with spicy chocolate bitters, but, true to its name, this fruitier, rye version with a pomegranate-black cherry syrup walks the line toward a Manhattan, even getting served up in a coupe glass without ice. 1660 Bellefontaine St., 317-672-7468, westforkwhiskey.com

Gilded Gent

Union 50

The creative mixologists at this longtime Cunningham pleaser aren’t bound by tradition, which shows in this south-of-the-border version mixing mezcal and scotch with a spicy demerara syrup that has an earthy, smoky edge, made all the more evident when garnished with a chocolate cigarette tipped in gold dust. 620 N. East St., 317-610-0234, union-50.com

Classic Old Fashioned

Wiseguy Lounge

Few cocktails feel more like the original than when the barkeeps at this swank whiskey-centric saloon tucked behind Goodfellas torch a lemon peel, stir Ancient Age Kentucky bourbon and simple syrup together and serve up the perfect pour. 545 Massachusetts Ave., 317-602-3401, goodfellaspizzeria.com/wiseguy-lounge

Smoked Old Fashioned

Shelby Street Speakeasy

Not only can you call your own bourbon, but you can select one of four smoke choices (hickory, mesquite, and cherry) to lend a custom, woodsy character to a cocktail you’ll sip in some of the most charming retro environs south of the city. 2849 Shelby St., 317-875-1932

Plat 99 Old Fashioned

Plat 99

The house old fashioneds at the Alexander’s second-floor art bar are textbook on their own, but a season upgrade gets you West Fork Whiskey’s Old Hamer bourbon sweetened with hickory syrup and smoked in a swing-top bottle you pour yourself. 333 S. Delaware St., 317-624-8200, thealexander.com 

Terry Kirts joined Indianapolis Monthly as a contributing editor in 2007. A senior lecturer in creative writing at IUPUI, Terry has published his poetry and creative nonfiction in journals and anthologies including Gastronomica, Alimentum, and Home Again: Essays and Memoirs from Indiana, and he’s the author of the 2011 collection To the Refrigerator Gods.
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