Banana Old Fashioned Cocktail Recipe

The Banana Old Fashioned cocktail is a sleeper of a beverage. I’ve made this for several friends now, who’ve turned up noses at the banana and ended up asking for more. A beautiful old-fashioned variation, this is one worthy of printing out and keeping on deck.

Banana old fashioned cocktail recipe

This particular banana old-fashioned is really easy to make. No infusions necessary. The garnish can be made to go all out for an epic presentation and flavor, or you can keep it simple and just garnish with a basic peel.

Banana Liqueur

The key for this cocktail is to use a high quality banana liqueur. Tempus Fugit is a really good brand to look for, with their Creme De Banane Liqueur.

Fun fact: tempus fugit is a Latin phrase for time flies.

You’ll want to stay away from the cheaper liqueurs that use corn syrup and fake banana flavors – this cocktail will end up tasting less than ideal.

Selecting a Bourbon

Based on the banana notes for this cocktail, I ended up going with Doc Swinson’s Alter Ego Triple Cask for the Cognac and Oloroso notes.

It is a blend of 2 different 5-year old bourbons whiskeys finished in Cognac, Oloroso Sherry, and Pedro Ximinez Sherry casks before being married in a Cognac foeder (large barrel) and bottled.

I’ll be curious what other people experiment with and love using. Leave a comment below with your own favorites.

Banana Oleo Saccarum

If you’re looking for more ways to incorporate banana into cocktails and want to reduce your food waste, consider making Banana Oleo Saccarum. You can use this to sauté banana slices in or in place of sugar for other cocktails such as tiki style drinks.

  • Get your banana peels and dice them up
  • Mix equal weights of diced banana peels to sugar
  • Ex. 100g banana peels + 100g sugar
  • Let the sugar and peels sit in a jar overnight at room temperature, or for a minimum of 4-5 hours.
  • During this process, you’ll notice from hour to hour the sugar is extracting the water from the peels and dissolving, forming a syrup.
  • Once there are no more sugar crystals, blend everything together.
  • Once blended into pulp, strain your liquid using a cheesecloth.
  • Store the liquid in an airtight container.

Your banana syrup that has been created just by using the peels of the fruit.

Garnishing the Cocktail

I experimented with banana garnish of different level of garnish, from just an orange peel, to a slice of banana, torching the banana, and finally sautéing banana slices, which were the most work and yielded the best results.

Banana old fashioned cocktail flambe

Lighting a splash of bourbon on fire to glaze the bananas.

Banana old fashioned cocktail recipe butter in pan

Melt some butter, toss in some brown sugar, and get a nice glaze going!

Banana old fashioned cocktail pouring into glass
Banana old fashioned cocktail squeezing orange peel
Banana old fashioned cocktail with bottles
Banana old fashioned served up
Banana old fashioned a la mode

Secret bonus: Take your extra sautéed banana slices and serve them with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Banana Old Fashioned

Michael Kahn
This banana old fashioned cocktail is surprisingly delicious, great for both cold evenings in and more tropical vibes.
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Course Cocktail
Cuisine Caribbean
Servings 1 cocktail
Calories 503 kcal

Equipment

Ingredients
  

Banana Old Fashioned Cocktail

  • 1 oz Creme de Banana Tempus Fugit Creme De Banane Liqueur
  • 2 oz Bourbon Doc Swinson's Alter Ego Triple Cask Bourbon Whiskey
  • 1 dash Aztec Chocolate Bitters
  • 2 dashes Black Walnut Bitters

Banana Garnish

  • 1 Banana Still a little green
  • 1 tbsp Butter
  • 1 tbsp Brown Sugar
  • 1 splash Bourbon
  • 1 peel Orange For peel garnish

Instructions
 

Banana Old Fashioned Cocktail

  • Add bourbon, banana liqueur, and bitters to a shaker filled with ice and stir vigorously for 30 seconds or until thoroughly chilled.
  • Strain into a double old-fashioned glass with a large ice cube.
  • Add garnish and serve.

Banana Garnish

  • Peel and cut banana into 1/2" thick slices.
  • Add butter and brown sugar into a saucepan on high heat. When butter is melted, add bananas.
  • Sauté bananas until they begin to cook. When they are almost done, add a splash of bourbon into the pan and light it on fire to glaze and caramelize the bananas.
  • Blow out the flame.
  • Fold an orange peel over a banana slice and hold in place with a bamboo toothpick.

Notes

One of the biggest factors is using a high quality banana liqueur. You can experiment with different bourbons, but you absolutely do not want to skimp on the banana.

Nutrition

Calories: 503kcalCarbohydrates: 51gProtein: 1gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.5gCholesterol: 30mgSodium: 95mgPotassium: 445mgFiber: 3gSugar: 38gVitamin A: 428IUVitamin C: 11mgCalcium: 20mgIron: 0.4mg
Keyword Banana, Bourbon
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Banana old fashioned cocktail vertical
5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)

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