It doesn’t get more classic than the Old-Fashioned cocktail, the combination of spirit, sugar and bitters that is considered the original cocktail.
Old Fashioned Cocktail – Photo © Cocktails & Bars
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Origins of the Old-Fashioned Cocktail
Like many classics, the origins of the Old-Fashioned cocktail are lost in time. The three-ingredient cocktail, not counting water in the form of ice, has undergone many alterations over the years and evolved with drink trends.
In Jerry Thomas’ Bartenders Guide: How To Mix Drinks A Bon Vivant’s Companion 1862, the Old-Fashioned is referred to as the ‘Whiskey Cocktail’. The recipe calls for the drink to be shaken:
3 or 4 dashes of gum syrup
2 do. bitters (Bogart’s)
1 wine glass of whiskey, and a piece of lemon peel
Fill one-third full of fine ice; shake and strain in a fancy red wine-glass.
It is claimed that the name Old-Fashioned dates back to in 1881 where, at the Pendennis Club in Louisville, Kentucky the drink was made by mixing bourbon, bitters, club soda, muddled sugar, and ice.
The use of a sugar cube often features in recipes, however, David Embury in The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks is an advocate of sugar syrup for “a smoother, better drink.”
It takes about twenty minutes to make a satisfactory Old-Fashioned starting with dry sugar; it takes about two minutes starting with sugar syrup.
In more recent literature, the Old-Fashioned is the first of the six cocktails that define the Cocktail Codex, a book by Alex Day, Nick Fauchald and David Kaplan of the highly acclaimed Death & Co cocktail bar in New York.
Below are two recipes commonly used to make the classic drink:
Old-Fashioned Cocktail Recipe with Sugar Cube
Ingredients
- 60 ml whiskey (or other spirit)
- 1 sugar cube
- 2-3 dashes Angostura bitters
- splash of soda water
Glassware: old-fashioned glass
Garnish: orange or lemon twist
Method
In an old-fashioned glass, muddle the sugar cube, bitters and splash of soda water. Add the whiskey (or other spirit) and one large ice cube and stir well until chilled. Express the oils from the orange or lemon peel, run it around the rim of the glass and garnish the drink.
Old Fashioned Cocktail with Simple Syrup
Ingredients
- 60 ml whiskey (or other spirit)
- 15 ml simple syrup
- 2-3 dashes Angostura bitters
Glassware: old-fashioned glass
Garnish: orange twist
Method
In a mixing glass, combine whiskey (or other spirit), simple syrup and bitters with ice. Stir then strain into an old-fashioned glass with a large ice cube. Garnish with an orange twist.
Old-Fashioned Cocktail Variations
The Old-Fashioned cocktail can be used as a template that encourages experimentation by altering some its components. Below are some Old-Fashioned cocktail variations of our own:
- Spirit: whisky, whiskey, bourbon, rye whiskey, brandy, Cognac, rum, gin, tequila, Applejack, moonshine
- Sweetener: sugar cube and splash of water, granulated sugar, simple syrup, rich syrup (2:1) for better viscosity and less dilution, agave syrup, honey water, gum syrup, maple syrup, demerara syrup, brown sugar syrup, oleo saccharum, flavoured syrups
- Bitters: Angostura Bitters, Orange Bitters, a combination of both, whiskey barrel aged bitters, chocolate bitters
- Citrus: citrus peel (no pith) muddled with sugar or syrup, orange peel expressed over a flame, mandarin oleo saccharum
Recipe Variations to Try
- Pandan Old-Fashioned
- Moonshine Old Fashioned
- “Old Fashioned in Rye No 3” Cocktail
- Rum Old Fashioned
- Ti’ Punch
- Tequila Old Fashioned
- Gin Old Fashioned
- How to Batch Old Fashioned Cocktail for a Crowd
The classic cocktail may be best summed up in the Cocktail Codex where the authors describe the experience:
Drinking an Old-Fashioned activates all your senses. The bottom-heavy glass with a large block of ice chills your hand, the bright aroma of citrus oil hits your nose as you lean in, and that first taste is sharp and boozy, yet smooth. And thanks to its high proof, an Old-Fashioned invites slow sipping and reflection.
