Place sugar cube in old fashioned glass and saturate with bitter, add few dashes of plain water. Muddle until dissolved. Fill the glass with ice cubes and add whiskey. Stir gently. Garnish with orange slice or zest, and a cocktail cherry.
The old fashioned is a cocktail made by muddling sugar with bitters and water, adding whiskey (typically rye or bourbon) or sometimes brandy, and garnishing with an orange slice or zest and a cocktail cherry. It is traditionally served with ice in an old fashioned glass (also known as a rocks glass).
An old fashioned was one of the simpler and earlier versions of cocktails, before the development of advanced bartending techniques and recipes in the later part of the 19th century.[2] The first documented definition of the word "cocktail" was in response to a reader's letter asking to define the word in the 6 May 1806, issue of The Balance and Columbian Repository in Hudson, New York. In the 13 May 1806, issue, the paper's editor wrote that it was a potent concoction of spirits, bitters, water, and sugar; it was also referred to at the time as a bittered sling.[3][4] J.E. Alexander describes the cocktail similarly in 1833, as he encountered it in New York City, as being rum, gin, or brandy, significant water, bitters, and sugar, though he includes a nutmeg garnish as well.[5]
By the 1860s, it was common for orange curaçao, absinthe, and other liqueurs to be added to the cocktail. As cocktails became more complex, drinkers accustomed to simpler cocktails began to ask bartenders for something akin to the pre-1850s drinks. The original concoction, albeit in different proportions, came back into vogue, and was referred to as "old-fashioned".[2][6] The most popular of the in-vogue "old-fashioned" cocktails were made with whiskey, according to a Chicago barman, quoted in the Chicago Daily Tribune in 1882, with rye being more popular than Bourbon. The recipe he describes is a similar combination of spirits, bitters, water, and sugar of seventy-six years earlier.[2]
The Pendennis Club, a gentlemen's club founded in 1881 in Louisville, Kentucky, claims the old-fashioned cocktail was invented there. The recipe was said to have been invented by a bartender at that club in honor of Colonel James E. Pepper, a prominent bourbon distiller, who brought it to the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel bar in New York City.[7] Cocktail critic David Wonderich finds this origin story unlikely, however, as the first mention in print of "old fashioned cocktails" was in the Chicago Daily Tribune in February 1880, before the Pendennis Club was opened; this in addition to the fact that the old fashioned was simply a re-packaging of a drink that had long existed.[2][8]
The popular story of how making an old-fashioned cocktail with brandy instead of whiskey began attributes it to the Chicago World's Fair in 1893, when the recently opened Korbel winery offered samples of their wine and brandy. Central European immigrants from Milwaukee took a liking to the Bohemian-born Korbel brothers' brandy, and brought it back to their home state and began using it in cocktails. This story is most likely false, however, and the practice more likely began after the Second World War due to supply shortages in spirits other than brandy.[9]
With its purported conception rooted in the city's history, in 2015 the city of Louisville named the old fashioned as its official cocktail. Each year, during the first two weeks of June, Louisville celebrates "Old Fashioned Fortnight", which encompasses bourbon events, cocktail specials, and National Bourbon Day which is always celebrated on 14 June.[10]
Due to the popularity of the cocktail (when made with brandy) in the state of Wisconsin, the brandy old fashioned was named Wisconsin's state cocktail in 2023.[11]
In January 2020, drinks journal Drinks International reported the old fashioned to be the top selling classic cocktail internationally, for the 6th straight year, based on its annual, global poll of 100 bars.[12]
Recipe
George Kappeler provides several of the earliest published recipes for old-fashioned cocktails in his 1895 book. Recipes are given for whiskey, brandy, Holland gin, and Old Tom gin. The whiskey old fashioned recipe specifies the following (with a jigger being 2 US fluid ounces or 59 millilitres):[13]
Dissolve a small lump of sugar with a little water in a whiskey-glass; add two dashesAngostura bitters, a small piece ice, a piece lemon-peel, one jigger whiskey. Mix with small bar-spoon and serve, leaving spoon in the glass.
By the 1860s, as illustrated by Jerry Thomas's 1862 book, basic cocktail recipes included Curaçao or other liqueurs. These liqueurs were not mentioned in the early 19th century descriptions, nor the Chicago Daily Tribune descriptions of the "old-fashioned" cocktails of the early 1880s; they were absent from Kappeler's old-fashioned recipes as well. The differences of the old-fashioned cocktail recipes from the cocktail recipes of the late 19th Century are mainly preparation methods, the use of sugar and water in lieu of simple or gum syrup, and the absence of additional liqueurs. These old-fashioned cocktail recipes are literally for cocktails done the old-fashioned way.[2]
Gin Cocktail Use small bar glass 3 or 4 dashes of gum syrup 2 do [dashes] bitters Bogart's 1 wine glass of gin 1 or 2 dashes of Curaçao 1 small piece lemon peel fill one-third full of fine ice shake well and strain in a glass[14]
Old Fashioned Holland Gin Cocktail Crush a small lump of sugar in a whiskey glass containing a little water, add a lump of ice, two dashes of Angostura bitters, a small piece of lemon peel, one jigger Holland gin. Mix with a small bar spoon. Serve.[13]
A book by David Embury published in 1948 provides a slight variation, specifying 12 parts American whiskey, 1 part simple syrup, 1–3 dashes Angostura bitters, a twist of lemon peel over the top, and serve garnished with the lemon peel.[15] Two additional recipes from the 1900s vary in the precise ingredients but omit the cherry which was introduced after 1930 as well as the soda water which the occasional recipe calls for. Orange bitters were a popular ingredient in the late 19th century.[16]
Modifications
The original old fashioned recipe would have showcased the whiskey available in America in the 19th century: Irish, Bourbon or rye whiskey.[17] But in some regions, especially Wisconsin, brandy is substituted for whiskey (sometimes called a brandy old fashioned).[18][19][20] Eventually the use of other spirits became common, such as a gin recipe becoming popularized in the late 1940s.[17]
Common garnishes for an old fashioned include an orange slice or a maraschino cherry or both,[17] although these modifications came around 1930, some time after the original recipe was invented.[21] While some recipes began making sparse use of the orange zest for flavor, the practice of muddling orange and other fruit gained prevalence as late as the 1990s.[21]
Some modern variants have greatly sweetened the old-fashioned, e.g. by adding blood orange soda or lemon-lime soda to make a fizzy old-fashioned, or muddled strawberries to make a strawberry old-fashioned.[22] In Wisconsin, the sweeter version (made with lemon-lime soda) is referred to as an "old fashioned, sweet" and the original version as an "old fashioned, sour."[23]
Modern versions may also include elaborately carved ice; though cocktail critic David Wondrich notes that this, along with essentially all other adornments or additions, goes against the simple spirit of the old-fashioned.[2]
Another more modern variation is the smoked old fashioned. The glass is smoked by a torch, smoking gun, or cocktail smoker.[24]
Cultural impact
The old fashioned is the cocktail of choice of Don Draper, the lead character on the Mad Men television series, set in the 1960s.[25] The use of the drink in the series coincided with a renewed interest in this and other classic cocktails in the 2000s.[26]
It was also the basis of an oft-quoted line from the 1963 movie It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, when boozy pilot Jim Backus decides to make the cocktail and leaves passenger Buddy Hackett to fly the plane. When Hackett asks, "What if something happens?" Backus replies, "What could happen to an old-fashioned?" This scene is satirized in Archer season 3 episode 1 ("Heart of Archness") when Sterling Archer attempts to make an old fashioned on Rip Riley's seaplane but lacks the basic ingredients.
The cocktail is the subject of the Cole Porter song "Make It Another Old-Fashioned, Please" from Panama Hattie, although the song asks to leave out the cherries, orange and bitters, and "Just make it a straight rye".
A gin and tonic is a highball cocktail made with gin and tonic water poured over a large amount of ice. The ratio of gin to tonic varies according to taste, strength of the gin, other drink mixers being added, etc., with most recipes calling for a ratio between 1:1 and 1:3. It is usually garnished with a slice or wedge of lime. To preserve effervescence, the tonic can be poured down a bar spoon. The ice cools the gin, dulling the effect of the alcohol in the mouth and making the drink more pleasant and refreshing to taste.
A Manhattan is a cocktail made with whiskey, sweet vermouth, and bitters. While rye is the traditional whiskey of choice, other commonly used whiskies include Canadian whisky, bourbon, blended whiskey, and Tennessee whiskey. The cocktail is usually stirred with ice then strained into a chilled cocktail glass and garnished traditionally with a maraschino cherry. A Manhattan may also be served on the rocks in a lowball glass.
The Tom Collins is a Collins cocktail made from gin, lemon juice, sugar, and carbonated water. First memorialized in writing in 1876 by Jerry Thomas, "the father of American mixology", this "gin and sparkling lemonade" drink is typically served in a Collins glass over ice. A non-alcoholic "Collins mix" mixer is produced, enjoyed by some as a soft drink.
The martini is a cocktail made with gin and vermouth, and garnished with an olive or a lemon twist. Over the years, the martini has become one of the best-known mixed alcoholic beverages. A variation, the vodka martini, uses vodka instead of gin for the cocktail's base spirit.
The Singapore sling is a gin-based sling cocktail from Singapore. This long drink was developed in 1915 by Ngiam Tong Boon, a bartender at the Long Bar in Raffles Hotel, Singapore. It was initially called the gin sling.
Pink gin was historically used to refer to a cocktail made fashionable in England in the mid-19th century, consisting of Plymouth gin and a dash of Angostura bitters, a dark red bitters that makes the whole drink pinkish. In recent years, the term Pink gin has also been used to define a specific category of gin where a range of fruits and flavourings are infused into the gin to give it a pink color.
The negroni is a cocktail, made of equal parts gin, vermouth rosso, and Campari, generally served on the rocks, and commonly garnished with an orange slice or orange peel. It is considered an apéritif.
A sour is a traditional family of mixed drinks. Sours belong to one of the old families of original cocktails and are described by Jerry Thomas in his 1862 book How to Mix Drinks.
Angostura bitters is a concentrated bitters based on gentian, herbs, and spices, produced by House of Angostura in Trinidad and Tobago. It is typically used for flavouring beverages, or less often, food. The bitters were first produced in the town of Angostura, hence the name, but do not contain angostura bark. The bottle is recognisable by its distinctive oversized label. Angostura is Spanish for "narrowing", the town of Angostura having been at the first narrowing of the Orinoco River.
The Prince of Wales is a cocktail created by Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, who later became King Edward VII. There are several variations of the cocktail, but what they usually have in common is champagne, angostura bitters, sugar, either rye whiskey or cognac, and a liqueur.
The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks is a book about cocktails by David A. Embury, first published in 1948. The book is noteworthy for its witty, highly opinionated and conversational tone, as well as its categorization of cocktails into two main types: aromatic and sour; its categorization of ingredients into three categories: the base, modifying agents, and special flavorings and coloring agents; and its 1:2:8 ratio for sour type cocktails.
Cocktail garnishes are decorative ornaments that add character or style to a mixed drink, most notably to cocktails.
An amaretto sour is a cocktail using amaretto liqueur. It is a type of sour, a mixed drink made with a base spirit, citrus juice, and a sweetener. The drink is the most popular cocktail use for amaretto.
The brandy daisy is a cocktail which first gained popularity in the late 19th century. One of the earliest known recipes was published in 1876 in the second edition of Jerry Thomas's The Bartenders Guide or How To Mix Drinks: The Bon-Vivants Companion:
Fill glass half full of shaved ice. Shake well and strain into a glass, and fill up with Seltzer water from a syphon.
A polar bear, After Eight or Peppermint Paddy is a mint chocolate cocktail that tastes like a York Peppermint Pattie or an After Eight mint. It is usually made from crème de cacao and peppermint schnapps, although crème de menthe is a popular substitute.
A sling is a drink historically made with sugar, hot or cold water, nutmeg, and a spirit such as gin, whiskey, rum, or brandy. In its modern form, it is made with gin and, varyingly, of ingredients such as sweet vermouth, lemon juice, simple syrup, Angostura bitters, and soda water. The word sling comes from the German schlingen, meaning "to swallow fast".
The Martinez is a classic cocktail that is widely regarded as the direct precursor to the Martini. It serves as the basis for many modern cocktails, and several different versions of the original exist. These are generally distinguished by the accompaniment of either Maraschino or Curacao, as well as differences in gin or bitters.
A whiskey cocktail is a cocktail that includes whiskey. Although whiskey is often served neat or on the rocks, it is used in many classic cocktails such as the Old Fashioned, Manhattan, and Julep. Some specifically call for Scotch whisky or bourbon whiskey.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Wondrich, David (2007). Imbibe!: From Absinthe Cocktail to Whiskey Smash, A Salute in Stories and Drinks to "Professor" Jerry Thomas, Pioneer of the American Bar (1sted.). New York, N.Y.: Perigee Book/Penguin Group. pp.196–199. ISBN978-0-399-53287-0. OCLC154308971.
↑ Alexander, J.E. (1833). Transatlantic Sketches, Comprising Visits to the Most Interesting Scenes in North and South America, and the West Indies, Volume II.
Schmid, Albert W. A. (2012). The Old Fashioned: An Essential Guide to the Original Whiskey Cocktail. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN978-0-8131-4173-2.
Simonson, Robert (2014). The Old-Fashioned: The Story of the World's First Classic Cocktail, with Recipes and Lore. Ten Speed Press. ISBN978-1607745358.
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