Old Fashioned

A staple of the cocktail world and one of the very first cocktails "invented", you can find old fashioneds or variations of them at restaurants and bars all over the world. Representing the foundation of cocktails and needing only three basic ingredients, the apparent simplicity doesn't match its actual complexity. Typical recipes include whiskey, sugar, angostura bitters, and a garnish. From my experience drinking old fashioneds, the results varied dramatically. The cocktails changed so much from one place to the next not only because of different whiskeys, but the type of sugar, the garnish, and what I least expected, the water.

After much experimentation and practice at home, I nailed down my preferred recipe. Here is the recipe and a few considerations for each ingredient.

My preferred Old Fashioned:

2.0 oz of Bulleit Rye

3/4 tsp of Demerrara Gum Syrup

2 dashes angostura bitters

1 dash orange bitters

1 lemon peel

1 orange peel

Combine all wet ingredients and stir over ice for 20 seconds in a mixing glass. Strain over a large ice cube in a lowball glass. Express the lemon peel over the glass and place in the drink. Express the orange peel over the glass, rub around the rim, and place in the drink

Whiskey

My preference leads me to a rye whiskey and perhaps one of the most well known rye whiskeys is Bulleit Rye. It also helps that it fits nicely into the budget. Rye whiskeys tend to taste a bit sweeter and, as a result, I reduce the sugar slightly. If using a more traditional bourbon, I would up the gum syrup to a full teaspoon.

Sugar

I had never heard of Demerara Gum Syrup until reading, Cocktail Codex. It suggests this type of sugar for old fashioneds because of the consistency and mouth feel it adds to the drink. I Googled a recipe to create the syrup and although it takes some time and ordering special ingredients, it is worth it. More traditionally, you could use a sugar cube or 1/4 oz of simple syrup.

Bitters

Bitters adds complexity to the drink and I personally prefer adding a dash of orange bitters along with a couple dashes of Angostura bitters. Alternatively, you can just use Angostura bitters, which is one of the most common bitters used in cocktails and is easy to find.

Garnish

Orange peel, lemon peel, cherry? I found that a combination of orange and lemon peels results in a great old fashioned. Both are expressed and placed in the drink. The orange peel is rubbed around the rim to add some additional sweet oils from the peel to the rim of the drink.

Water

Water, in my untrained opinion, plays a huge role in cocktails through dilution. And dilution is especially important in a drink that is as "simple" as an old fashioned. For instance, the drink is served over a large ice cube to control the dilution of the drink as it is sipped on. What also matters is how long you stir the mixture over ice. I use one inch ice cubes and find that stirring for 20 seconds results in an old fashioned that is immediately enjoyed while still allowing time for it to evolve as the large ice cube slowly melts.

More or less, I had no idea how complicated such a simple drink was. In the future, I'll do separate posts on creating gum syrup, dilution, and my favorite cocktail (a variation of an old fashioned), the Sazerac.