Time to discuss the cause of tomorrow’s hangover: the old fashioned. This is probably my favorite cocktail and is derived from the drink that the word cocktail originally referred to before it became a catch all for mixed alcoholic beverages.
First, a brief history* because I want you all to hate me more than you already do: The origin of the cocktail was a drink from around the 1840-50s consisting of spirit (originally Holland gin or brandy were just as, if not more common than, whiskey), water (as ice was not prevalent at that point) sugar, bitters stirred together and served at room temperature.
Once ice became more accessible bartenders shifted to syrups since normal sugar would not dissolve as well in colder drinks, and eventually start adding in other liqueurs like absinthe, curaçao, and maraschino and generally being garnished with whatever they could grab.
Being new, it immediately pissed people off who didn’t want the fancy crap and just wanted it made the old fashioned way. What followed was a basic formula for what we now expect to get when we yell, “Two old fashioneds!” over the other drunks at the bar, trying to defend our kidneys from everyone else elbowing in to one open spot at the bar:
THE Old Fashioned (credit: How to Drink)
-2oz/60ml of whiskey
-1 sugar cube
-Angostura bitters
Add one sugar cube to your glass and soak it in Angostura bitters. Add your whiskey (Rye probably would have been the most common), add ice, and stir to chill (you are not going to get the sugar to dissolve completely). Take a lemon or orange twist and squeeze it over the glass, rub the expressed twist over the rim, and then drop it in.
Thanks for everyone who read that. For everyone who skipped it: I’ve been sexting your wife for the last 6 months and you really need to expand your imagination in bed. Below are the base recipe and a few variations. As for the specs, the simple syrup and bitters content are just suggestions. You can make it as sweet or bitter as you’d like.
Old Fashioned
-2oz/60ml base spirit
-.5oz/15ml simple syrup (use less if you want it less sweet)
-2 dashes Angostura bitters
Stir over ice and and strain over rocks glass, over ice, squeeze orange or lemon twist over the glass and garnish by placing expressed twist in the tlass. If you are making one, you can just add the contents to the glass you’re going to drink it out of, add ice, stir, and serve/drink.
Variations:
Wisconsin Old Fashioned
-2oz/60ml brandy
-.5oz/15ml simple syrup
-2 dashes angostura bitters
-1 thin orange wedge
-1 maraschino cherry
For the best results, build this one individually in the glass. Add syrup, bitters, orange wedge, and cherry to glass and muddle together into a rough paste. Add brandy and fill the glass halfway to two thirds with crushed ice and stir. Top off the glass with more crushed ice and serve with a straw (or without the straw).
New Jersey Old Fashioned (Creation of mine, [sort of], inspired by a video from How to Drink) (Badger: blah blah blah New Jersey sucks something something New York Light)
-2oz/60ml Lairds Bonded** Straight Apple Brandy (or any type of applejack you can find)
-.5oz/8ml cinnamon syrup***
-2 dashes Angostura bitters
-1 dash orange bitters
Same preparation as first recipe.
Spicy Tequila Old Fashioned (Credit: My favorite bartender at one of DC’s first speakeasy bars that is now closed)
-2oz/60ml tequila
-.5oz/15ml simple syrup
-2 dashes habanero bitters
Add syrup, bitters, and tequila to glass and stir over ice. Coat the rim of the serving glass with lime juice and then dip the outside of the rim in a mixture of salt and chili powder (if you’re building it in the glass, do this first). Serve over ice.
Oaxaca Old Fashioned
-1.5oz/45ml reposado tequila
-.5oz/15ml mezcal
-1 bar spoon agave syrup
-1 to 2 dashes Angostura bitters
Same preparation as the first recipe.
Rum Old Fashioned (credit: How to Drink)
-2oz/60ml pot stilled/Jamaican rum (Smith and Cross Navy Strength - 114 proof - is what will kill me tonight)
-.25oz/8ml simple syrup
-2 dashes Angostura bitters
-3 lime wheels
Like the Wisconsin old fashioned, this one is best built in the glass. Add lime wheels, syrup and bitters to the glass and muddle together into a rough paste. Add your rum and ice and stir to combine. Now drink it.
*For a better telling, take a look at Imbibe! by Dave Wondrich
**Since most people in the world, and therefore most people on this board, are smarter than I am a lot of you probably already know what bonded or bottled-in-bond means when it is placed on a bottle of liquor. On the off chance you don’t, here’s a brief primer:
Bonded liquor is one of the first quality control measures taken up by the US government on food stuffs. Short version backstory: jerk distillers were watering down their bourbon, making bourbon whiskey quite crap. In order to keep whiskey and other liquors from being diluted or outright poisoned, the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897 was established, setting the following standards:
-The liquor must be the product of one distilling season (Jan-Jun or Jul-Dec)
-The liquor must be distilled by a single distiller at a single distillery
-The liquor must be aged in barrels at a bonded (hence the name) warehouse under US government supervision (Treasury Department) for four years minimum.
-The liquor must be bottled at 50% alcohol/100 proof
-The liquor must be bottled by a single distiller at a single distiller
-If the distilling and bottling distillery are different entities, both distillery names must be printed on the label.
-The liquor must be distilled, aged, and bottled entirely in the US in order to be eligible to be labeled as bonded/bottled-in-bond
Distilleries were given a number of tax incentives to get them to buy in to the program and now we have 100 proof whiskey to add a little kick to our cocktails.
The most common bonded bottles that I buy:
-Evan Williams Bottled-in-bond (white label)
-Old Grandad Bonded Bourbon
-Rittenhouse Bottled-in-bond Rye
-Old Overholt Bonded Rye
***mix 2 parts sugar with 1 part water and 3-4 cinnamon sticks, bring to a boil and then reduce to a bare simmer for up to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Let cool completely then discard cinnamon sticks.