In cocktail books since before the 1880s, the Old Fashioned has consistently been made with bourbon or rye, but experimenting with gin can lead to results just as great.

Establishments like Philadelphia Distilling make Old Fashioneds with barrel-aged gin, which shares some of the same vanilla and oak notes that you might find in bourbon.

The idea behind using barrel-aged or finished gin is that the spirit takes on flavors and aromas from the barrel and ultimately makes it more whiskey-like in character.

While barrel-aged gin tastes closest to its bourbon counterpart, any gin you like can potentially be used to make a unique Old Fashioned that you will love.

For example, Hendrick’s Gin suggests using their gin to make an Old Fashioned with sugar, orange bitters, an orange twist, and a bit of hot water rather than ice.