The Chef!

There are lots of different takes on the “Old Fashioned” using various spirits, but the the main idea of an Old Fashioned is that is a short drink – spirit based – that is either shaken or quite simply added to an ice-filled glass that contains a sugar-cube soaked in angostura bitters.

My own cocktail bible says that the old Fashioned made its first appearance at the Pendennis Club in Louisville, Kentucky around 1900, at the request of Colonel James E Pepper who was a distiller of bourbon. It is for this reason that the original and classic version is based on bourbon.

If you enjoy this classic cocktail you are in good company; President FD Roosevelt mixed Old Fashioneds for King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1939!

For a classic Old Fashioned:

Place a sugar cube in a short tumbler and add a dash of Angostura bitters. Once the cube has soaked up the bitters, add about three quarters broken ice and then 2 measures of bourbon and a measure of soda water (this is not essential).

To garnish I would recommend half a slice of lemon. Serve the drink with a twist of orange and a cocktail muddler.

To make other versions simply substitute the 2 measures of bourbon with the same amount of vodka, tequila, Scotch, brandy or cognac, or Canadian whisky.

Ref: The Classic 1000 Cocktails (Foulsham)

Related articles by Zemanta

• Mad Men and Drinking, Season Three, Part II: Don Draper Makes an Old Fashioned (offthepresses.blogspot.com)
• The Old Fashioned Bar (offthepresses.blogspot.com)