The Old Fashioned is a bootlegger cocktail from Louisville, 1880s. Built on bourbon or rye, served in a old fashioned, around 32% ABV. The drink that named the category.
What goes in a Old Fashioned?
- ·2 oz bourbon or rye
- ·1 sugar cube
- ·2 dashes Angostura bitters
- ·1 splash water
- ·Orange peel
- ·Brandied cherry
How do you make a Old Fashioned?
- Place the sugar cube in a rocks glass.
- Saturate with the bitters and a splash of water. Muddle to a paste.
- Add a large ice cube. Pour in the whiskey.
- Stir for 20 seconds.
- Express the orange peel over the glass, drop it in. Garnish with the cherry.
What should you know before making a Old Fashioned?
- Use one large ice cube, not crushed. Surface area kills the drink.
- Skip muddled fruit. The 1990s cherry-and-orange muddle was a bartending mistake. Express the peel, drop it in.
- Real maraschino cherries (Luxardo, Filthy) are worth the upgrade. Maraschino-red dye-bombs ruin it.
Where did the Old Fashioned come from?
The drink that named the category. When the Pendennis Club bartenders served whiskey, sugar, and bitters in the 1880s, customers started asking for the cocktail "the old-fashioned way." The name stuck. The recipe is the original 1806 definition of the word "cocktail" itself: spirit, sugar, water, bitters.
According to Pendennis Club, Louisville, Kentucky, attributed to bartender James E. Pepper c. 1881.
What cocktails are similar to a Old Fashioned?
Common questions.
What is in an Old Fashioned?
Bourbon or rye whiskey, one sugar cube, two dashes of Angostura bitters, a splash of water, an orange peel garnish, and an optional brandied cherry. The drink is the original 1806 definition of the word cocktail.
Bourbon or rye for an Old Fashioned?
Either works. Bourbon (corn-forward, sweeter) makes a softer drink. Rye (spicier, drier) makes a sharper one. Most Louisville bars use bourbon. Most New York bars use rye.
Should you muddle fruit in an Old Fashioned?
Traditional bartending says no. The 1880s recipe never muddled fruit. Modern revival bars (like Death & Co) have returned to the no-muddle version.
What's the strongest part of an Old Fashioned?
The whiskey. The drink is 32% ABV by design. Sugar and bitters do not dilute the spirit. They build a frame around it.