Wisconsin Brandy Old Fashioned
Ingredients
five shakes
Fill to top. Use Jolly Good 50/50 for sour taste instead.
Preparation
In an old fashioned glass, muddle the orange slice, maraschino cherry, Angostura bitters (five shakes), and the sugar cube until it’s sludge. Add Korbel. Fill with ice. Top with Jolly Good 50/50 for sour or Sprite for sweet. Stir. Garnish with another slice of orange and another maraschino cherry.
A Midwestern departure from the whiskey-based original, the Wisconsin Old Fashioned swaps bourbon for brandy—typically Korbel—creating a softer, fruitier foundation. The muddled orange and cherry mingle with Angostura bitters and sugar, then get stretched with lemon-lime soda, yielding a drink that's more approachable than its Manhattan cousin. It's a supper club staple across Wisconsin, where ordering one "sweet," "sour," or "press" is practically a regional dialect.