Pear Old Fashioned Recipe with Giffard
Pear Old Fashioned Recipe
An autumn-leaning Old Fashioned. Giffard Pear syrup replaces the sugar cube, bringing orchard-fruit depth without turning the drink dessert-sweet.
Ingredients
- Bourbon (Whiskey Row 18th Century works well)60 ml
- Giffard Pear syrup10 ml
- Angostura bitters2 dashes
- Orange bitters1 dash
- Garnish: orange peel and a thin pear slice—
Method
- Add bourbon, Giffard Pear syrup and both bitters to a mixing glass.
- Fill with cubed ice and stir for 30 to 40 seconds. You're looking for a slow, glassy dilution — about 20% water added.
- Strain over a single large ice cube in a chilled Old Fashioned glass.
- Express the oils from an orange peel over the drink and drop it in.
- Add a thin pear slice to the side of the glass as a visual cue.
Garnish: Expressed orange peel and a thin pear slice.
Why this works
The Old Fashioned is the original cocktail — bitters, sugar, spirit, water — first defined in writing in 1806. This pear-led variation replaces the sugar cube with Giffard Pear syrup, which contributes orchard-fruit fragrance to the stirred glass without veering into novelty territory.
Giffard Pear is made from Williams pears (Bartlett in the US), the variety used in classic eau-de-vie production. The syrup carries the same green, lightly perfumed character that you find in a top-tier French Poire Williams brandy, just without the spirit. Whiskey Row 18th Century bourbon — high-rye in the mashbill — gives the spicy backbone to balance the fruit.
Bartender tips
Stir, don't shake. The Old Fashioned is a spirit-forward drink and shaking destroys the texture. Use one large ice cube — not crushed, not multiple — for slow, even dilution in the glass. Express the orange peel by holding it skin-side down over the glass and pinching firmly: the oils should visibly mist. A second variation: swap orange peel for a lemon peel in winter, when oranges are more bitter.
Featured products
Giffard Pear Syrup
Williams-pear syrup with orchard-fresh character. The right move for autumn bourbon builds.
Shop the bottleWhiskey Row 18th Century Bourbon
High-rye Kentucky bourbon. Spice-forward, dries the pear, holds the stir.
Shop the bottleGiffard Cinnamon Syrup
Try 5 ml of cinnamon in addition to the pear for a true autumn riff — pear and cinnamon are a textbook pairing.
Shop the bottleFAQ
Can I use Giffard Pear liqueur instead of syrup?
Giffard doesn't currently ship a Williams-Pear liqueur to Australia through us — the syrup is the right call. If you have Poire Williams eau-de-vie on hand, you can split the bourbon 50/10 with it for a different drink entirely.
What if I want to use rye whiskey?
Rye works beautifully — spicier and drier than bourbon. Drop the orange bitters and add a second dash of Angostura.
Is it sweet?
No, when made to spec. 10 ml of pear syrup is roughly half the sugar load of a traditional Old Fashioned sugar cube.
Can I make this with cinnamon or apple?
Yes — apple syrup or cinnamon syrup both work. Substitute 1:1 for the pear, or split 5:5 for a layered autumn build.