Old Fashioned

We'll get to some history on the awesome Old Fashioned cocktail recipe in just a moment, but first, here are a few other classic whiskey cocktails we think you'll enjoy: the Peach Whiskey Iced Tea, the Whiskey Sour, the Irish Coffee, the Boulevardier, and the Flaming 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse. When it comes to the Old Fashioned history, the Old Fashioned Wikipedia page notes that it's basically a way of referring to the "concoction" (i.e. recipe) that was originally associated with the word "cocktail." The ingredients list for that drink first dubbed a "cocktail" consisted of "spirits, bitters, water, and sugar." (The word appeared in an 1806 issue of The Balance and Columbian Repository in Hudson, New York.) In the second half of the 19th century, that original "concoction" had had a bunch of other ingredients added to it, so if people wanted the original cocktail, they'd ask for it "old fashioned." In an April 2015 article, Thrillist points out that "A book entitled Jerry Thomas' Bartenders Guide: How To Mix Drinks is published, giving instructions and recipes... [that contained] a recipe for an Old Fashioned Holland Gin Cocktail...." The Old Fashioned Holland Gin cocktail recipe in the book said to "Crush a small lump of sugar in a whiskey glass containing a little water, add a lump of ice, two dashes of Angostura bitters, a small piece of lemon peel, one jigger Holland gin...." Yes, we know that recipe calls for gin instead of whiskey — it turns out that change was made when the drink came to the good ol' U.S. of A. Hooray for Bourbon! Speaking of Bourbon, we have a ton of other delicious Bourbon cocktail recipes right here.

OLD FASHIONED
2 oz. (60ml) Whiskey
2 Dashes Bitters
1 Sugar Cube
Splash Water
Garnish: Orange Twist/Cherry

PREPARATION
1. Combine sugars, bitters and water in the bottom of a rocks glass and muddle until sugar dissolves.
2. Fill the glass with ice, add whisky and stir well to combine.
3. Garnish with an orange twist and a cherry.
DRINK RESPONSIBLY!