When you need a cozy cocktail, look no further than this chai old fashioned! Made with a brown sugar-chai simple syrup and citrusy bitters, this bourbon cocktail is the perfect sipper for those chilly nights by the fire.

Two chai old fashioned cocktails on a wooden platter with spices on the side and lights in the background.

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Ingredients
How to Make Chai Simple Syrup
Step-by-Step Instructions
Perfect Pairing
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During the fall and winter months, we can't have enough old fashioned recipes in our back pocket. While your standard old fashioned never goes out of style, putting a twist on a classic cocktail is a memorable way to elevate an evening. With the warming bourbon and rich chai spice, this take on an old fashioned sets the mood for a relaxing evening with good company.

Best of all, this chai old fashioned couldn't be easier to whip up, which makes for stress-free hosting duties. Sure, the chai addition sounds fancy and impressive to your guests, but all it takes is a quick boil and steep to extract our chai spice and a little stirring for our cocktail. Even the beginner mixologist can make this crowd-pleasing, easy bourbon cocktail.

Bonus: If you love this drink, make sure you also check out my maple bourbon sour, spiced cranberry old fashioned and apple cider old fashioned! This smoked old fashioned from Cook What You Love is also a nice option.

A close-up shot of one chai old fashioned on dark cloth and a wooden board with a cinnamon stick on top.

Ingredients

To make this chai old fashioned, here's everything we need.

Bourbon
Dark brown sugar
Chai tea
Orange bitters
Orange twist
Luxardo cherry
Cinnamon stick

For the bourbon, I recommend a high-quality brand that doesn't break the bank. Cheap bourbon is never a good idea as far as I'm concerned, but that's even more true when it comes to an old fashioned. We don't use much sweetener in an old fashioned, so a harsh, low-quality bourbon will taste painfully obvious.

Still, we are adding a few ingredients, so this isn't the time to bust out a rare bottle. For bourbon cocktails, I tend to reach for Maker’s Mark, Buffalo Trace, Elijah Craig, Stranahan’s, Four Roses or Woodford Reserve.

Angostura bitters are the traditional flavoring for an old fashioned, but these days, you can get so many different specialty bitters. Why not take advantage of all these bitters for a modern twist on an old fashioned? Orange bitters nicely complement the warm spices and add a welcomed brightness. Of course, you can use angostura bitters, but I think you'll love the extra touch of citrus.

A side view of a chai old fashioned with lights behind it and star anise and cloves to the side.

How to Make Chai Simple Syrup

Before we start on our cozy bourbon cocktail, we need to make our brown sugar-chai simple syrup, which I originally shared on the blog in 2018.

We do this by simply boiling together dark brown sugar and water. While you could use light brown sugar, I recommend the dark variety. Dark brown sugar has a richer flavor thanks to the extra molasses.

As the mixture comes to a boil, we give it a stir every so often to help dissolve the sugar. Once it boils and our sugar dissolves, we turn off the heat, add a chai tea bag and let it steep just as if you were making a cup of tea.

After the simple syrup steeps, we remove the tea bag and chill. The simple syrup will last several weeks in the refrigerator, so you can take care of this step well ahead of time for even easier entertaining.

Two chai old fashioned cocktails with lights on the side on a dark cloth.

Step-by-Step Instructions

With our brown sugar-chai simple syrup prepared, we're ready to start on our spiced old fashioned. We grab an old fashioned glass and add the simple syrup and a few dashes of our orange bitters and give it a stir.

Now we add one big ice cube along with our bourbon and give it a good stir. By using one large ice cube rather than your standard ice cubes, we get less dilution. We want some dilution, but we don't want to overdo it. Plus, it just looks fancy and fun. Of course, you can use standard ice cubes, but I love using the large ice cube when possible.

I picked up my ice cube molds on Amazon, but I've also seen them in POP displays at liquor stores. Your typical kitchen store, like Bed, Bath and Beyond, is also a good bet.

From here, we cut off a 2-inch orange peel slice, twist it over our glass and drop it into our drink. This releases the oil and fragrance for an extra citrusy kick. For the perfect finishing touch, we add a Luxardo cherry and cinnamon stick, and that's it! Now we sip away on the coziest of cozy cocktails.

An aerial view of two chai bourbon cocktails on a wooden platter with spices around them.

Perfect Pairing

This chai old fashioned calls for a bold meal to stand up to the bourbon, and I have just the right match: my apple cider pot roast. The caramel-like notes from the bourbon are lovely with our braised beef.

When you need a comforting, warming bourbon cocktail, I hope you try this chai old fashioned.

Cheers!

Two chai old fashioned cocktails on a wooden platter with spices on the side and lights behind them with a black background.

A chai bourbon cocktail with a bundle of lights to the side against a black background.

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