CrosswordNewsletters
DAILY BEAST
ALL
  • Cheat Sheet
  • Politics
  • Crime
  • Entertainment
  • Media
  • Innovation
  • Opinion
  • World
  • U.S. News
  • Scouted
  • Travel
CHEAT SHEET
    POLITICS
    • Fever Dreams
    • Biden World
    • Elections
    • Opinion
    • National Security
    • Congress
    • Pay Dirt
    • The New Abnormal
    • Right Richter
    • Trumpland
    MEDIA
    • Confider
    • Daytime Talk
    • Late-Night
    • Fox News
    U.S. NEWS
    • Identities
    • Crime
    • Race
    • LGBT
    • Extremism
    • Coronavirus
    WORLD
    • Russia
    • Europe
    • China
    • Middle East
    INNOVATION
    • Science
    TRAVEL
      ENTERTAINMENT
      • TV
      • Movies
      • Music
      • Comedy
      • Sports
      • Sex
      • TDBs Obsessed
      • Awards Shows
      • The Last Laugh
      FOOD & BEVERAGE
        CULTURE
        • Power Trip
        • Fashion
        • Books
        • Royalist
        TECH
        • Disinformation
        SCOUTED
        • Face Masks
        • Clothing
        • Technology
        • Bedroom
        • Kitchen
        • Home
        • Fitness
        • The Case For
        • I'm Looking For
        • New Kids On the Block
        COUPONS
        • Adidas Promo Codes
        • DoorDash Promo Codes
        • H&M Coupons
        • Hotwire Promo Codes
        • Wine.com Discounts
        • Vitacost Coupons
        • Spanx Promo Codes
        • StubHub Promo Codes
        Products
        NewslettersPodcastsCrosswordsSubscription
        FOLLOW US
        GOT A TIP?

        SEARCH

        HOMEPAGE
        Half Full

        It’s Smoke & Terrariums for Hilton Carter’s Old-Fashioned

        House Drink

        Celebrated plant expert and interior stylist Hilton Carter shares the recipe for his signature smoked Old-Fashioned cocktail.

        Sammi Katz

        Updated Jun. 10, 2021 3:27PM ET / Published Jun. 10, 2021 4:58AM ET 

        Courtesy Olivia McGiff

        When Hilton Carter was 20 years old, he was a server at Spike & Charlie’s, a fine-dining restaurant in his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland. It was there that the plant expert and interior stylist first learned how to make his signature cocktail, an Old-Fashioned. “An Old-Fashioned is timeless in a way,” he says. “It makes itself available for any moment, any season.”

          While Carter is a fan of many different types of drinks, he usually finds himself making Old-Fashioneds whenever people come over. With only a few ingredients, it’s easy to make and low-maintenance, since it can be made directly in the glass. “Serving Old-Fashioneds to friends and family members is good for me, because I feel like I can’t miss,” says Carter. His love of whiskey is so well known that he’s often gifted bottles of bourbon and rye whiskey. “I think it’s the beard,” he jokes.

          Carter is the author of several books on plant care, most recently Wild Creations. He also just came out with a collection of plants and accessories for Target. When he wants to bring some nature to his cocktailing, he’ll smoke his Old-Fashioneds with wood chips. It adds some additional flavor and pizazz. “Does it add any greatness to the cocktail? I don’t think so,” Carter laughs. “I think it’s all about the show.”

          Wild Creations

          Shop at Amazon$

          Here’s how to make Hilton Carter’s Smoky Old-Fashioned.

          THE LIQUOR

          Courtesy Olivia McGiff

          For his Old-Fashioned, Carter typically prefers sweeter bourbon over spicier rye. “It’s smoother and brings out some of the notes in the Old-Fashioned.” He and his wife, Fiona, keep a number of their favorite spirits in glass decanters; the one for whiskey currently contains Bulleit Bourbon. “It has a great flavor to it that we love and I don’t mind mixing it in a cocktail,” he explains. Carter is full of Baltimore pride, so he uses Sagamore Spirit’s rye when he wants his Old-Fashioned a little drier.

          THE SUGAR & BITTERS

          For the rest of the ingredients, Carter goes pretty old school. He muddles a simple white sugar cube with a couple dashes of orange bitters, a Luxardo Maraschino Cherry and a splash of water in a rocks glass. Given that this is his go-to drink, he even has a muddler monogrammed with his initials.

            Then the whiskey and a large ice cube go into the glass. “It just comes out looking better” than using several smaller cubes or a large ice sphere. Carter tends to stir his Old-Fashioned quite a bit, to make sure it’s properly diluted before he serves it.

            THE SMOKE

            Courtesy Olivia McGiff

            Because Carter feels an Old-Fashioned “has a bit of a parlor trick sense to it,” he often likes to play with his Breville Smoking Gun that he got as a gift from his brother-in-law. He infuses the cocktail using hickory wood chips, and true to form for a professional plant guru, he captures the smoke using, of course, a glass terrarium. “If we’re having another couple over then maybe I’ll break the terrarium out.”

            THE GARNISH

            For garnish, Carter adds an orange twist and another maraschino cherry but this time with some syrup from the jar. “It’s important to have that solid cherry to eat at the end,” he asserts. Carter loves the maraschino sweetness that the cherry provides. “It reminds me of being a kid and getting a sundae.” He also insists on only using Luxardo cherries. “I’m a cherry snob,” he says with a grin.

            Smoky Old-Fashioned

            INGREDIENTS

            • 3 oz Bourbon
            • 1 White sugar cube
            • Orange bitters
            • Splash water
            • 1 Luxardo Maraschino Cherry
            • Glass: Rocks
            • Garnish: Orange twist and Luxardo Maraschino Cherry with syrup

            DIRECTIONS

            In a rocks glass, muddle one cherry, the sugar cube, several dashes of bitters and a splash of water. Add the bourbon and one big ice cube. Stir. Put the cocktail under a glass dome with a smoking gun filled with wood chips and let infuse for 1 minute. Garnish with an orange twist and another cherry with some syrup from the jar.

            In our new monthly column, House Drink, we talk to people about their favorite cocktails to make for themselves at home.

            Illustrations by Olivia McGiff

              READ THIS LIST

              DAILY BEAST
              • Cheat Sheet
              • Politics
              • Crime
              • Entertainment
              • Media
              • World
              • Innovation
              • U.S. News
              • Scouted
              • Travel
              • Subscription
              • Crossword
              • Newsletters
              • Podcasts
              • About
              • Contact
              • Tips
              • Jobs
              • Advertise
              • Help
              • Privacy
              • Code of Ethics & Standards
              • Diversity
              • Terms & Conditions
              • Copyright & Trademark
              • Sitemap
              • Coupons:
              • Coupons:
              • Vistaprint Coupons
              • Samsung Promo Coupons
              • Home Depot Coupons
              • Office Depot Coupons
              • eBay Coupons
              • Ashley Furniture Promo Codes
              © 2022 The Daily Beast Company LLC