Recipe

• 45ml bourbon whiskey

• 1 sugar cube

• Angostura bitters

Hold a sugar cube and pour bitters onto it until saturated with colour. Put it in an old-fashioned glass, add a little hot water (about 10ml), and stir until dissolved. Fill with ice, add the bourbon and a cherry, and stir.

I've made this a few times now, and I love it! Bourbon can be a little sickly, but the bitters cuts right through it, making for a refreshing, strong alcoholic drink. I used the Official IBA recipe from Wikipedia, figuring I should stick to international standards wherever possible.

The rich whiskey and the flavour of cloves from the bitters definitely remind me of Christmas – perhaps I'll make a few of these in December.