Keto-Friendly Bourbon Old Fashioned

This keto-friendly bourbon old fashioned is a delicious drink perfect for anytime. It’s more than a drink; it’s smooth, suave simplicity.

WHAT IS A BOURBON OLD FASHIONED?

A bourbon old fashioned is a very simple alcoholic beverage. The ingredients are very simple: bourbon, water, sweetener, bitters, and ice. Often, a slice of orange or orange peel is used to garnish the drink.

The Old Fashioned was considered a morning drink and was originally referred to as the “whisky cocktail.” Considered the first classic cocktail, the name change occurred when bartenders tried to improve on the original with absinthe, orange liqueurs and other ingredients.

This led customers to request the “old fashioned” version. The renaming is said to have occurred at the Pendennis Club in Louisville, Kentucky, where the Old Fashioned remains that city’s official cocktail.

Adding orange and cherry bitters to the equation happened during Prohibition, presumably as a way of masking the whisky smell. For this reason, some purists don’t bother with the fruit element.

KETO-FRIENDLY BOURBON OLD FASHIONED INGREDIENTS

Before you try to make this drink, make sure you have the following ingredients on hand.

• 2 oz bourbon
• 2 dashes orange bitters
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• 2 tsp tap water
• optional orange peel to garnish

After you have these, you’re set and ready to go!

HOW TO MAKE A BOURBON OLD FASHIONED

Making a bourbon old fashioned is incredibly easy. You simply mix all of the ingredients together in a glass and drink up!

WHAT ARE ORANGE BITTERS?

Orange bitters is a form of bitters, a cocktail flavoring made from the peels of Seville oranges, cardamom, caraway seed, coriander and burnt sugar in an alcohol base.

You might often see orange bitters and angostura bitters used together, or interchangeably. However, the two shouldn’t be confused as they are different from one another.

Some recipes for old fashioned call for angostura bitters instead of orange.

For a long time, orange bitters were very hard to get in the United States, so some drinks that used them traditionally now exclude them.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE IN KETO AND KETO-FRIENDLY?

There is often some confusion as to the difference in the term “keto” versus “keto-friendly.” While the two terms are often used interchangeably by those on keto, they actually mean two different things.

KETO DEFINITION

Used alone, keto (or ketogenic) references a food, recipe, or way of eating that is high in fat, has a moderate amount of protein, and a low (usually five or less) amount of carbs.

Common keto foods/ingredients are heavy cream, butter, avocado, and almond flour. These follow the high fat, low-carb equation mentioned above.

Generally, those eating a keto diet aim for 20g (sometimes 30g) of carbohydrates or less daily. However, they try to make 70% of their calories come from fat.

KETO-FRIENDLY DEFINITION

Keto-friendly, on the other hand, is a food or ingredient that is able to be consumed while on the keto diet. These foods/ingredients are very low in carbohydrates (3g or less) and generally have little to no fat or protein.

Some common keto-friendly products include Zevia, monk fruit sweetener, and unsweetened almond milk.

Just because an ingredient is keto-friendly, that doesn’t make it “truly keto.” It just means it is safe to eat because the carb count is low enough.

CHOOSING A GOOD BOURBON

Choosing a good bourbon is imperative to creating a delicious cocktail. Not sure where to start with the seemingly endless choices?

Here are some tidbits of info to get you started.

FLAVORED BOURBON = BAD IDEA

To start, steer clear of any flavored bourbon you may see in your local liquor store. Flavored bourbons sound good in theory, especially when the flavor compliments the flavor of the drink.

Some flavored bourbons contain lots of added ingredients, along with the one ingredient you are trying to steer clear of; sugar.

HIGHER PRICE ACTUALLY MEANS HIGHER QUALITY

While there is nothing wrong with lower cost liquors, choosing ones that are higher in price is a good idea. You truly do get what you pay for and that can go a long way when it comes to a delicious mixed drink.

So, opting for a more expensive bourbon can make this drink all that much better.

HOW MANY CARBS ARE IN A BOURBON OLD FASHIONED?

In a traditional bourbon old fashioned (depending on the amount of different ingredients used) can have anywhere from 5g – 10g of carbohydrates. Traditional recipes use sugar to sweeten the drink, which certainly doesn’t help the carb count.

This keto-friendly version, however, swaps the sugar for a keto-approved sweetener and reduces the amount of bitters used. There are some carbs in bitters, regardless of which type you use, but a tiny amount of bitters goes a long way.

So, this version has 2g of carbohydrates in it, instead of the normal 5g – 10g bourbon old fashioned.

WHAT TO DRINK A BOURBON OLD FASHIONED WITH

There are plenty of delicious dishes to drink a keto-friendly bourbon old fashioned with. Here are some ideas to get you started.

• Keto Chipotle Grilled Chicken
• Keto Cast Iron Skillet Meatloaf
• Keto Garlic Chicken and Broccoli
• Keto Skyline Chili
• Keto Sweet Heat BBQ Ribs
• Keto Bacon Bourbon Meatballs

For more ideas, you can check out our recipe index or check out our main course recipes.

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