Cherry Chocolate Old Fashioned

Inspiration:

Many people underestimate the importance of using the right spirit in a cocktail. Often if the recipe calls for bourbon, it is easy not to think twice about which bourbon you grab of the shelf.

This is of course ok for many cocktails, especially those which are filled to the brim with fruit juices and sweeteners.. but personally, I prefer a cocktail which compliments the spirit of choice, without having to dilute it to oblivion. 

Obviously, with spirit forward cocktails such as an old fashioned, the tasting notes of the spirit become even more important. As such, creating any old fashioned recipe, the spirit is the toughest part! 

My plan here was to bring out notes of cherry and chocolate by utilizing the perfect whiskey. After trying a few options, the specs I enjoyed the most came from optimizing the chocolate notes in the whiskey itself. To do this, I used an Irish Whiskey with coffee, chocolate, and vanilla notes. 

Why I love this:

This is quite a simple cocktail! One that, though I spent ample time finding the perfect whiskey, it will work with any Canadian whisky, Scotch, or Irish whiskey -- particularly one with nutty/chocolate notes. It's comprised of three quick ingredients that most cocktail lovers will have on their shelves. 

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Recipe:

2 Oz Irish Whiskey (I prefer Jameson Black Barrel)

1 Oz cherry liquor (I prefer Cherry Heering)

2 dashes chocolate bitters

Garnish with a dark chocolate square. (Optional, sprinkle a small bit of sea salt over the chocolate garnish.)