The Story Behind The Bardstown

This make-ahead bottled cocktail from Maggie Hoffman’s “Batch Cocktails” is a dinner party's boozy best friend. Similar to the American Trilogy cocktail of New York City's Little Branch, the Old Fashioned-esque drink will put your mind and guests at ease.

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups 100-proof apple brandy, such as Laird’s
  • 1 cup 100-proof rye, such as Rittenhouse
  • ½ cup triple sec
  • 1 tablespoon orange bitters
  • ¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon water
  • 8 orange twists

Directions

  1. At least 1 1/2 hours and up to 2 1/2 hours before serving, use a small funnel to pour apple brandy, rye, triple sec, bitters, and water into a 1-liter swing-top bottle.
  2. Seal, turn gently to mix, and chill in your freezer. (If you’d prefer to batch further in advance, refrigerate filled bottle, then place in freezer an hour or so before serving.)
  3. To serve, turn bottle gently to mix again, and then pour into chilled coupe glasses.
  4. Express the oils from an orange twist over each glass, rub rim of glass with twist, and use twist as garnish.

Rate This Recipe:

★ ★ ★ ★ ★
(23 votes)

Yield: 8
Updated: 2019-11-19

The Bardstown Recipe

Related Reads & Recipes

More Brandy Recipes To Explore

St-Rémy Appleseed

St-Rémy Appleseed:
Ryan Smith's St-Rémy Appleseed combines a sweet and spicy cocktail flavor with brandy, rum, French orange bitters/liqueur, and apple caramel syrup.

The Armagnac Daiquiri Recipe

The Armagnac Daiquiri Recipe:
In this riff on the Hemingway Daiquiri, or El Floridita, Armagnac swaps in for white rum, playing off of lime, grapefruit, and Maraschino liqueur.

The Autumnal Daiquiri Recipe

The Autumnal Daiquiri Recipe:
Calvados, a French brandy made from apples and pears, brings fall flavors to this seasonal riff on a classic Daiquiri. Get the recipe here!

Pisco Sour

Pisco Sour:
Get our recipe for a great Pisco Sour. Learn everything you need to know to make a perfect Pisco Sour.

Le Toucan Recipe

Le Toucan Recipe:
A playful spin on the Jungle Bird cocktail, this colorful drink replaces rum and Campari with Armagnac and Suze, an herbaceous French aperitif.

The Sweet New Year Recipe

The Sweet New Year Recipe:
This very autumnal twist on a classic Old Fashioned features apple brandy and honey syrup. Learn how to make this cocktail with this easy recipe!