Old Fashioned Recipe
The original cocktail, and still the best: whiskey, sugar, bitters and a twist of orange. Stirred, never shaken, over one big cube.
Ingredients
- 2 ozBourbon or rye whiskey
- 1Sugar cube (or 1/4 oz simple syrup)
- 2 to 3 dashesAngostura bitters
- 1 splashWater
Garnish
- Orange peel
- Brandied cherry, optional
Equipment: Rocks glass, bar spoon, muddler, one large ice cube.
Method
- Add the sugar cube, bitters and a splash of water to a rocks glass and muddle until dissolved.
- Add a large ice cube and the whiskey.
- Stir gently for 20 to 30 seconds to chill and slightly dilute.
- Express an orange peel over the glass to release its oils, then drop it in.
- Add a cherry if you like, and serve.
About the Old Fashioned
The Old Fashioned dates to the early 1800s, when a cocktail simply meant spirit, sugar, water and bitters. As drinks grew more elaborate, people began asking for theirs made the old fashioned way, and the name stuck.
It is a spirit-forward drink, so the quality of the whiskey matters. Bourbon makes it rounder and sweeter; rye makes it drier and spicier. The sugar and bitters do not hide the whiskey, they frame it.
- Rye gives a spicier, drier drink; bourbon is softer and sweeter.
- Do not over-muddle; you only need the sugar dissolved.
- One large cube melts slowly and keeps the drink from watering down.
- A high-proof whiskey stands up well to the dilution from stirring.
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All you need is a bottle of bourbon or rye and some aromatic bitters. Add them to your cart for same-day or next-day Long Island delivery or wine shipping where legal (spirits are local delivery and in-store pickup only).
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