Chai-Maple Old Fashioned

Art of the Cocktail's weekly challenges continue, and week #4 was sponsored by Marker's Mark.  For this week challenge I wanted to keep things very simple, so decided to do a twist on a timeless class, the Old Fashioned.

As I may have mentioned previous blog posts, I tend to go through different phases when it comes to creating cocktails.  The particular phase I happened to be going through at the time, fittingly, was chai tea infused bourbon.  The addition of a bit of maple syrup and black walnut bitters made for a winner cocktail; literally, my Chai-Maple Old Fashioned took home 1st place in this week's Art of The Cocktail challenge!

Chai-Maple Old Fashioned
- 2 oz Silk Road Herbal Chai Infused Maker's Mark *
- 1/4 oz Maple Syrup
- 3 Dashes Fee Brothers Black Walnut Bitters
- Orange Zest


- Add bottle of mixing glass and gently muddle to extract oils
- Add bourbon, maple syrup, and bitters to mixing glass
- Add ice and stir for approximately 20 seconds
- Garnish with flamed orange zest

Silk Road Herbal Chai Infused Maker's Mark *
- 4 oz Maker's Mark
- 1 Tablespoon Silk Road Herbal Chai Tea

- Add bourbon and tea to air tight jar and allow to infuse for only an hour and a half
- Strain through fine mesh strainer and bottle

Note:  Do not let the chai tea infuse for any longer 2 hours at the absolute maximum, otherwise the natural bourbon flavors will be completely lost, and all you'll have is an incredibly spicy chai flavored spirit.

To see the judges' runners-up, along with their thoughts on my winning cocktail, view the video below.

Week #5 is sponsored by every bartender's favorite, Fernet Branca.

For more information of the weekly challenges and Art of The cocktail, visit www.ArtofTheCocktail.ca