Welcome to the first Bourbon & Bitters Quick Pour, where we skip the pretenses and dive right into a product review. Today, we’re trying out The Old Fashioned (of course) from the On the Rocks Premium Cocktails collection. This premixed cocktail combines Knob Creek bourbon whiskey (one of our favorites) with bitters, cane sugar, orange, cherry, and lemon flavors.
On the Rocks bills this cocktail as “A stunning blend of classic bourbon, with the perfect touch of cherry and orange and a beautiful vanilla finish.” It’s earned a Gold medal from the Beverage Tasting Institute and a Silver medal in the World Spirits Competition.
Let’s see how this ready-to-drink Old Fashioned lives up to the hype. For our tasting, we did a simple pour over ice in a rocks glass, accompanied by an orange peel.
First impression: It’s stronger than you’d expect for a pre-mix. The cherry notes hit your nose right off the top, though the orange is more subtle, even with the fresh orange peel. It’s drinkable, but not as smooth as you might experience from a freshly mixed Old Fashioned with a classic muddled sugar cube. Still, for an at-home cocktail with no work required, it’s pretty solid. We’d recommend maybe dressing it up with a cherry or a bit more of an orange zest.
Rating: 3/5 tumblers
On the Rocks Premium Cocktails | The Old Fashioned
Available in 375ml, 200ml, and 100ml bottles
35% ABV / 70 proof