Cranky Pat's Pizzeria & Pub

Considering the number of times I have been to Cranky Pat's since starting this blog, it was quite shocking to me that I have never written a review. I love sitting at Cranky's bar and having a couple of drinks and ordering their pizza. Pizza is the most subjective food that exists, but Cranky's is easily my favorite pie in Oshkosh. No need for a blog on that one.

Well, with that all being said, this review almost didn't happen -- so I apologize for some missing details. I ordered my usual, but was too busy chatting about the baseball game on TV to even think about reviewing a drink. However, I was half paying attention to the bartender to see she had got a glass, added a couple of maraschino cherries and an orange wedge. She then she muddled the fruit -- although it was more like a hard grind. I didn't see her add the sugar nor the bitters -- but I did see her add a shot and half (or 2) of Aristocrat brandy. She added ice to the glass. THEN she grabbed a metal drink shaker and proceeded to carefully slosh the drink back and forth, finely mixing the ingredients.

This really stood out to me and was the moment that I knew I had to review this drink. At all of the places I have ever ordered a brandy old fashioned sour, I have never seen a bartender mix an old fashioned in the same manner as they would a martini drink! She then poured the ingredients back into the glass and topped off the drink with 50/50 and olives.


I have a spot in my heart for old fashioned drinks mixed with 50/50, as that is what we always used at my parent's house on Christmas Eve. The drink was quite sweet and citrusy, but I couldn't taste a lot of the bitters. I wonder how much she added -- I didn't see that part, but I did see the bottle on the edge of the bar. The drink was immensely refreshing on the hot summer day -- not heavy with sugar, despite being sweet. I think the careful mixing helped a lot with that.

The drink was strong, but not boozy tasting -- the perfect amounts of all ingredients. I speculate that closer to 2 shots were used in the making of this drink, but once again, the mixing blended it all so well together. This drink was definitely worth the $4.

Cranky's Pat's has a lot going for them between their pizza and old fashioned cocktail.

Rating (out of 5 olives)


Cranky Pat's Pizzeria & Pub
100 N Main Street
crankypats.com/oshkosh

Footnote: If you are wondering, we ordered a large pepperoni, sausage, onion and jalapeño pizza. So yummy. I LOVE how crispy their pepperoni gets. Delish.