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Old Fashioned
The Original · The First Cocktail · Built · Bourbon
The original classic cocktail: whiskey, sugar, bitters and water, stirred and served over a large cube.
Glass: Rocks / Old Fashioned glass
Garnish: Orange peel, expressed over the drink and rubbed on the rim
Method: Stirred · Family: Old Fashioned · Calories: about 155
Ingredients
- 2 oz (60 ml) bourbon or rye whiskey (traditionally bourbon; rye makes a drier, spicier version)
- 1 sugar cube, or ½ tsp (2.5 ml) simple syrup
- 2–3 dashes aromatic bitters, such as Angostura
- ½ tsp (2.5 ml) water, or as needed
How to make an Old Fashioned
- Place the sugar cube in a rocks glass. Add the bitters and a few drops of water.
- Muddle until the sugar is mostly dissolved.
- Add the whiskey and a large ice cube.
- Stir gently for 20–30 seconds, until well chilled and diluted.
- Express the orange peel over the drink, rub it on the rim and drop it in.
Tools: Muddler, Bar spoon, Jigger, Peeler.
What it tastes like
Smooth, balanced and warming, with notes of caramel, vanilla, toasted oak and baking spice, plus a hint of citrus from the orange oils.
History
The Old Fashioned is the drink that came before the word “cocktail” meant anything else. In 1806 a New York newspaper editor, Harry Croswell, defined a “cock-tail” as spirits, sugar, water and bitters. That is exactly this recipe.
By the 1880s bartenders were adding liqueurs and fancy modifiers, and drinkers who wanted the plain version started ordering their whiskey cocktail made the “old-fashioned” way. The name stuck.
Variations
- Boulevardier: The whiskey Negroni: equal parts bourbon or rye, Campari and sweet vermouth, stirred.
- Mexican Old Fashioned: Use añejo tequila and 1 barspoon of agave syrup. Garnish with orange peel.
- Smoked Old Fashioned: Rinse the glass with smoke from oak or cherry wood before building the drink.
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