There’s a version of cherry blossom season that belongs to the Tidal Basin crowds, the festival, the rush to catch peak bloom before a rainstorm comes through and strips the trees. I love all of that. Heck, I write about it every spring on my DC travel site.

But there’s another version that happens at home, after the crowds have cleared, when the windows are open, and the air still has that cool-floral edge that only lasts a few weeks. That’s when I stir up a Cherry Blossom Old Fashioned to sip on my porch.

The Cherry Blossom Quiet Old Fashioned is just like the classic, but with some flowery stuff added.

Two ounces of bourbon, a small pour of cherry blossom syrup, a dash of orange bitters, stirred, and strained over a large cube. That’s it.

It’s spirit-forward, the way an Old Fashioned always should be. The cherry blossom syrup isn’t there to cascade the drink in flower petals; it’s there to shift the bourbon slightly in the direction of spring without changing what the drink fundamentally is.

That being said, a lighter bourbon is preferred so you get a little of that floral fun.

Why So Little Syrup?

Most simple syrups in an Old Fashioned call for between 0.25 and 0.5 oz. This one uses 0.25 oz, and that’s deliberate.

Cherry blossom syrup is delicate. Use too much, and the floral note tips into something that reminds me of Cherry Blossom perfume from L’Occitane en Provence, which I love, but I don’t want to drink it. The goal is to make a bourbon Old Fashioned that smells faintly of spring when you sniff it, not a floral cocktail wearing an Old Fashioned costume.

If you’ve made your own cherry blossom syrup from fresh or salted blossoms, taste it first. Homemade batches vary in intensity. Start with 0.25 oz and adjust from there.

For store-bought, the Floral Elixir Co. cherry blossom syrup is a good option, made from real sakura extract, with no artificial flavors, and it won a gold medal at the LA International Spirits Competition.

It’s concentrated enough that 0.25 oz is the right starting point.

Which Bourbon Works Best

You want something with caramel and vanilla in the baseline, a classic bourbon profile, rather than a high-rye that fights the cherry blossom with too much spice.

My recommendation is a mid-range wheated bourbon or a standard 90-proof Kentucky bourbon. Maker’s Mark, Larceny, or Weller Special Reserve are fine. The softer grain profile lets the floral note come through cleanly.

Avoid anything heavily peated or with a dominant rye kick. This is a drink about subtlety, and a big, assertive bourbon will bulldoze right past the syrup, but a nice, smooth bourbon will shine through, so don’t be afraid to try it with your fancy stash.

The Japanese Whisky Variation

Swapping the bourbon for Japanese whisky instantly changes the character, but not the idea behind the cocktail. Cherry blossoms are integral to Japanese culture, so using a Japanese whisky in a cherry blossom cocktail makes sense.

Can it be called whisky if it’s not from Scotland? I always thought that was a big deal, but maybe the Japanese made such perfect whisky that they get to call it by the Scottish name. I’ll look into that and get back to you.

The most accessible option is Suntory Toki, which is widely available, affordable by Japanese whisky standards, and has a flavor profile built for cocktails with notes of green apple, honey, and a hint of grapefruit.

Suntory even uses Toki as their recommended base for Old Fashioned variations, and it’s easy to see why.

If you want to go richer, Nikka From the Barrel is consistently cited as one of the best Japanese whiskies for an Old Fashioned. It’s bolder, with dried fruit and dark chocolate notes that hold up beautifully against the floral syrup and bitter orange.

For a splurge, Hibiki Japanese Harmony (if you can find a bottle at a reasonable price) brings delicate floral notes of its own that create a lovely echo with the cherry blossom syrup.

All three work. Toki is the easiest starting point, though.

The Bitters

Orange bitters and cherry blossom have a natural affinity as both carry a floral-adjacent quality without leaning sweet, and the citrus thread in orange bitters ties back to the faint almond-citrus character of the cherry blossom syrup.

Angostura aromatic bitters would work too, but they add a spice note that competes with the cherry blossom a bit more than you may want. Orange bitters keep things brighter.

The Ice

Use a large cube or a clear sphere. This is a slow-sipping drink, and you don’t want it diluting faster than you’re drinking it.

I use a clear ice cube maker for this. Clear ice melts more slowly than the cloudy kind because it has fewer air bubbles, and in a spirit-forward drink like an Old Fashioned, you want the slow stuff.

A sphere mold also works and looks particularly good in a rocks glass, but make sure it makes clear ice, meaning all of the impurities fall to the bottom of the container, while the actual ice spheres are made with the top clean water.

The Garnish

Use an expressed orange peel, dropped in or balanced on the rim.

Cut a wide strip with a channeling knife or a fruit peeler, hold it skin-side down over the glass, and squeeze so the oils spray across the surface of the drink. The orange oil and the cherry blossom syrup work together in a way that’s immediately obvious when you smell the glass before you take a sip.

If you are out of orange, you can use a lemon twist. I’ve also added an orange blossom in the past when cherry blossoms are scarce.

A fresh cherry blossom floated on top, if you have one from an untreated tree, is a lovely finish.

Check out more on working with edible flowers in cocktails, as well as a few cocktail garnish ideas, when you are feeling creative.

What Glass to Use

A rocks glass, sometimes called a lowball or Old Fashioned glass, although rocks glasses are sometimes larger than a lowball. Either way, a short, wide shape is right for this kind of drink.

A few of my favorite glasses, include:

• These classic lowball glasses — clean and simple
• These have more weight in hand if you prefer a heavier feel
• These are slightly more modern in profile

How to Stir It

Add the bourbon, cherry blossom syrup, and orange bitters to a mixing glass filled with ice. Stir for about 20 to 25 seconds, which is long enough to chill and dilute properly without becoming watery.

Strain over your large cube into a rocks glass. Express the orange peel. Drink it slowly.

If you’re building out your kit, long-bar-spoon stirrers give you more control over the stir and dilution than short-bar-spoon stirrers do.

How to Make a Mocktail Version

Use Rooibos tea as the base. It’s naturally caffeine-free, slightly sweet on its own, with a warm, earthy quality that gives it more structural weight and body than most herbal teas.

Brew a strong cup of tea and let it cool completely, then combine 2 oz chilled rooibos with 0.25 oz cherry blossom syrup and a dash of orange bitters in a mixing glass with ice. Stir, strain over a large cube, and garnish with an orange peel.

It won’t taste like bourbon. But it will taste like a proper drink, giving you something to pour when you want a treat without the alcohol, or if you just want to share with your pregnant friend who is missing out on your weekly happy hour.

How This Compares to Other Floral Old Fashioneds

If you want to see how cherry blossom syrup sits in my larger family of spirit-forward seasonal Old Fashioneds, the Plum Bourbon Old Fashioned is a good comparison. It’s richer, more fruit-forward, and built for fall. This cherry blossom version is its spring counterpart: lighter, quieter, more about aroma than flavor.

Both use the same basic structure. Both will love you more if you use a good bourbon.

More Cherry Blossom Syrup Cocktails

• Cherry Blossom Bee’s Knees
• Cherry Blossom Quiet Old Fashioned
• Falling Petals Gimlet
• Herbal Sakura Garden
• Pear Sakura Collins
• Petal & Stone Sour
• Sakura Drift Martini
• Strawberry Sakura Smash
• Cherry Blossom Green Tea Spritz
• Lychee Blossom Spritz
• Lychee Sakura Martini
• Pink Grapefruit Sakura Sour
• Cherry Blossom French 75 — gin, cherry blossom syrup, lemon juice, topped with Champagne
• Sakura Spritz — cherry blossom syrup, prosecco, splash of soda, over ice

Start shaking up more of our spring cocktail recipes

Cherry Blossom Quiet Old Fashioned

Glass: Rocks | Yield: 1 cocktail

Ingredients

• 2 oz bourbon (or Japanese whisky — Suntory Toki or Nikka From the Barrel recommended)
• 0.25 oz cherry blossom syrup
• 1 dash orange bitters

Garnish: Expressed orange peel

Instructions

1. Add the bourbon, cherry blossom syrup, and orange bitters to a mixing glass filled with ice.
2. Stir for 20 to 25 seconds until well chilled and diluted.
3. Strain over a large clear ice cube into a rocks glass.
4. Cut a wide strip of orange peel, hold it skin-side down over the glass, and squeeze to express the oils across the surface. Drop it in or rest it on the rim.

Mocktail

Brew rooibos tea strong and let it cool completely. Combine 2 oz chilled rooibos, 0.25 oz cherry blossom syrup, and 1 dash orange bitters in a mixing glass with ice. Stir for 20 seconds. Strain over a large ice cube. Express an orange peel over the glass and garnish the same way.