Thamaniya #8: A Savory Old Fashioned

Name: Thamaniya #8: A Savory Old Fashioned
Yield: 10
Cuisine: American

Recipe: Roger Gomes , Sifr , Chicago

Photo: Kevin White

February 03, 2025

An earthy, aromatic cocktail with a velvety mouthfeel.

This savory Old Fashioned from beverage director Roger Gomes of Chicago’s contemporary Middle Eastern restaurant Sifr was born out of a desire to capture the rich, aromatic flavors of za’atar in a cocktail. To achieve this, Gomes fat-washes bourbon with za’atar butter as well as ghee to amplify the richness. “The fat-washing process beautifully balances the flavors, allowing each ingredient to shine without any one overpowering the others,” he says. The result is an earthy, aromatic cocktail with a velvety mouthfeel.

Ingredients

Yield:5

10 oz. bourbon
3 1/2 oz. unsalted butter
3 1/2 oz. ghee
3/4 oz. za'atar spice powder
1/2 oz. agave syrup (2:1)
1/3 oz. Angostura bitters
1 tsp. orange bitters

Tools:bowl, saucepan, mixing glass, barspoon
Glass:Old Fashioned
Garnish:orange peel

Preparation

Mix all of the ingredients (except butter and za’atar spice) in a bowl. Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the spice mix. Let it simmer for 2-3 minutes until the zaatar is incorporated into the butter. Remove from heat, let cool, and add to the batch. Mix well and let it rest for about 15-20 minutes. Place the mixture in the freezer overnight. The butter should form a solid layer over the cocktail mix. Scoop out the butter and pass the batch through a coffee filter. Bottle the batch and store it in the freezer. Keeping the batch in the freezer will improve the texture and give the drink a silky mouthfeel. The batched cocktail lasts for up to 1 week without any alterations to the flavor and texture. But beyond a week it will lose its silky and rounded properties.
Build a DrinkPortion out 2 oz. of the batch into a mixing glass, add ice, and stir to dilute. Strain over a large ice sphere or cube in a glass. Garnish.