Handy & Schiller Barreled Old Fashioned Cocktail
Handy & Schiller Barreled Old Fashioned Cocktail is a 42% ABV (84 proof), 750mL ready-to-drink Old Fashioned built on Buffalo Trace Bourbon with Peychaud's Bitters, aged in the warehouses at Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky and bottled ready to pour — neat or over ice, exactly as Sazerac serves it. At 84 proof it drinks like a properly made bar Old Fashioned, not a diluted shortcut. It is available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor.
- ABV: 42% (84 proof)
- Size: 750mL
- Base: Buffalo Trace Bourbon
- Build: Bourbon and Peychaud's Bitters (official Sazerac listing)
- Ageing: Aged at Buffalo Trace Distillery, Frankfort, Kentucky
- Produced by: Sazerac, Merchants Exchange Co. line
- Award: Gold Medal, Tastings.com (quoted by Sazerac)
The Coffee House Classic, Barreled at Buffalo Trace
The Old Fashioned is the cocktail the Sazerac Coffee House era helped define — whiskey, bitters, and little else — and Handy & Schiller, Sazerac's line named for Coffee House men Thomas Handy and John Schiller, bottles it the slow way: Buffalo Trace's flagship bourbon and Peychaud's Bitters, the bitters born in New Orleans, rested together at the distillery before bottling. Launched alongside the Barreled Manhattan in 2017, it earned the pair's higher Tastings.com medal — Gold to the Manhattan's Silver. Find the line on the Handy & Schiller vendor page, compare the rye-built Handy & Schiller Barreled Manhattan, or shop the full cocktails shelf.
Tasting Notes
Nose: Chinese five-spice and sesame with a hint of mint and tobacco, per Tastings.com's notes quoted by Sazerac. Palate: Satiny, moderately sweet and light-to-medium bodied, with balanced sweetness and clear oak influence over the bourbon. Finish: Allspice, clove, vanilla, peanut brittle and chewy caramel, closing on the creamy citrus note Sazerac highlights.
How to Enjoy
Sazerac's own serving instruction is the whole recipe: neat or over ice. An orange twist expressed over the glass is the classic finishing touch.
Frequently Asked Questions
What bourbon is in the Handy & Schiller Old Fashioned? Buffalo Trace Bourbon, blended with Peychaud's Bitters and aged at Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky, before bottling.
How strong is it? 42% ABV (84 proof) — full cocktail strength, noticeably stronger than the line's 70-proof Manhattan.
Is anything else needed to serve it? No. It is a complete Old Fashioned in the bottle; pour it over ice and add an orange twist if you like.
Buffalo Trace bourbon, Peychaud's and barrel time, ready to pour — pick up Handy & Schiller Barreled Old Fashioned at Del Mesa Liquor, San Diego, CA.