Most pre-made cocktails have a problem. They decide the whole drink for you, including the part you should get to decide, the whiskey. An Old Fashioned with your own whiskey flips that, and it's the whole idea behind Still Branch.
A canned Old Fashioned picked the whiskey months ago, in a factory, for a price point. You drink whatever they put in the can, and you hope it's close. A consistent Old Fashioned with your own whiskey is the trade nobody used to offer.
Still Branch works the other way around. We make the hard half. You bring the spirit. The packet handles the balance: dark brown sugar for the backbone, sorghum and maple layered behind it, two bitters working together, Italian Marasca cherry, and a touch of orange. That part takes a craft producer and a kettle in Portland, Oregon to get right every single time.
The whiskey is the fun half, and it's yours. Pour the good stuff. The Weller you finally found. The Four Roses Small Batch on the cart. The bottle a friend gave you that's been waiting for the right night. An Old Fashioned with your own whiskey is built to complement oak-aged spirits, so it lifts what you pour and sits underneath it rather than fighting it.
Here's why that distinction matters. In a canned cocktail, the spirit is a line item. Whoever built it chose the cheapest whiskey that would pass, because every cent of bottle cost gets multiplied across a production run. You're tasting a budget decision made by a stranger. When you make an Old Fashioned with your own whiskey, the spirit is a choice you made, on purpose, for tonight.
How does an Old Fashioned with your own whiskey change glass to glass
Bourbon gives you a rounder, softer Old Fashioned. Rye gives you more snap and spice. Same packet, two different drinks, and you get to choose which one you're in the mood for. Try a high-proof bottle if you want some heat. Try a wheated bourbon if you want it smooth. The packet flexes to all of it because it was tuned to support a spirit, not to stand in for one. (The Old Fashioned cocktail has, by tradition, always been a spirit-forward drink — one where the liquor itself takes center stage instead of mixers or sweeteners — which is exactly why the bottle you choose matters so much.)
Think about what that unlocks over a year. One box of fourteen packets can become fourteen slightly different drinks, depending on what's open on your shelf. The Weller night tastes plush. The high-rye bourbon night tastes spicy. The barrel-proof night brings heat you can feel. You're running your own little tasting flight through whatever bottles you've collected, with the balance held constant so the only variable is the whiskey you chose. Every pour is still an Old Fashioned with your own whiskey, just a different one each time.
It also means the drink grows with you. The bottle you splurge on next year makes a better Old Fashioned with your own whiskey than the one you're pouring now, automatically, with the same packet. A canned cocktail can never do that. It's frozen at the quality it shipped with. Yours improves every time you upgrade the bottle.
Dialing in an Old Fashioned with your own whiskey
One tip worth stealing from our reviews: some whiskeys want a small adjustment. A little more whiskey, a little less, depending on how hot or sweet the bottle runs. A barrel-proof bourbon at 120-plus might want a touch less whiskey to balance the heat. A softer 90-proof pour might want a touch more. Follow the directions exactly the first time, then dial it to your bottle on the second pour.
And when you want to be sure the rest of the glass is worthy of the bottle, that's the part we've already settled. The liquid in the packet has won SIP Awards Platinum 2024 and SIP Awards Double Gold 2023, judged blind against drinks built behind bars. So an Old Fashioned with your own whiskey pairs your best bottle with a base that earned its medals in a glass, with no logo to help it.
There's a social version worth trying at your next dinner. Set out three bottles: a wheated bourbon, a high-rye bourbon, and a straight rye, and build one drink with each, same packet across all three. Hand them around and let people taste the spread. It turns a round of drinks into a conversation, and it shows off exactly what the packet does, which is hold everything else steady so the whiskey gets to talk.
It's also the answer to the gift problem with whiskey drinkers. You can't easily buy a serious bourbon fan a bottle, because they either already have it or have opinions you'll get wrong. A box of packets sidesteps that. You're handing them fourteen chances to make an Old Fashioned with their own whiskey, using the bottle they already love. You spent real money on a bottle you love. You should get to taste it in the drink. An Old Fashioned with your own whiskey is how you finally do it. Pick your bottle. Pour 2 oz. Let the whiskey be the star.
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