Old Fashioned Recipe
From:
Field Guide to Cocktails
, by
Rob Chirico
Email
Makes:
1 drink
Buy Now
The Old Fashioned is one of America’s oldest cocktails—its name is short for old-fashioned whiskey cocktail. The base for this drink is rye whiskey, which is rounded out by the addition of fruit. An Old Fashioned is, well, old-fashioned—but in an entirely laudable way. Its notoriety was so widespread that a glass was named for it.
What to buy: Rye is a rarity these days, so even the purist should not feel guilty about using bourbon. Old Fashioneds can also be made with blended whiskey or brandy.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 maraschino cherries
- 2 slices of orange
- 1 teaspoon sugar or 1 small sugar cube
- 1 or 2 dashes of angostura bitters
- 1 teaspoon water
- 2 ounces rye or bourbon whiskey
INSTRUCTIONS
- Muddle 1 cherry, 1 orange slice, and the sugar, bitters, and water in a chilled Old Fashioned glass. Remove the orange rind. Add the whiskey and ice; stir. Garnish with a maraschino cherry and an orange slice.
This recipe, while from a trusted source, may not have been tested by the CHOW food
team.
Copyright Quirk Books
Muddling the fruit creates a mess. Elijah Craig 12 YO Bourbon, bargain priced, makes a great Old Fashioned. Old Overholt Rye only an okay one.
Chowhound! What the hell are you doing? You're cocktail series is nothing short of horrifying and is actively undermining the revival of the great American art of drink. I'm sorry that I can't be as polite and informative as poster Berkana, but this is just irresponsible.
Gotta give props to the 'sconskis on this cocktail. I moved from the east coast to Wisconsin and found that this was indeed the state drink. I was taught to muddle superfine sugar, bitters, and orange rind with a very small splash of water. Brandy (always brandy) ice and 7-Up garnished with orange and a cherry finished the drink. Way too sweet for my taste but gawd they love 'em in the frozen tundra.
is it possible for people to comment on the topic, and not try to advertise their own stuff??? so depressing...
Ok, after reading all the hype about not putting in fruit, putting in fruit, bourbon, whiskey, yada, yada, yada...and after reading that recipe, I have to comment. first off, this recipe has way too much fruit in it, and water?? It's supposed to be made with bar syrup, better known as simple syrup. Any good bartender who values their trade will insist on having it always handy. You need to start off with a proper old fashioned glass (preferably one w/o the flowers please), add 1 slice orange and 1 cherry. Place a couple of cubes of ice ontop of this. Muddle the ice w/the fruit making sure you break the rind of the orange up very well. This process releases the aromatics and oils in the fruit as well as combining their flavors. Pack the glass with ice. Now add a couple drops of bitters, 1 slightly heaping tablespoon simple syrup, 2 ounces rye ( I prefer Makers Mark bourbon myself) and mix. Top the remainder of the glass with club soda. This is an Old Fashioned my friends. Please enjoy responsibly.
I am no conoisseur of Old Fashioned, but I like this recipe a lot. We didn't have the recommended cherry, so we skipped this. I liked the muddled orange which went very well with either the bourbon or straight rye version. This recipe is a keeper, and we have enjoyed this for a few nights in a row after a long day at work, before dinner. Enjoy!
Ugh. No fruit in my Old Fashioned, please.
I've been making the drink exactly this way, and I love it. It tastes great and is refreshing. I like to nibble on something salty with it.
S0 glad to see this recipe!! It's an old fashion drink, delicious plus it was always in competition with the martini which is taking over the nation.
I learned to make old fashions in wisco, it was always either brandy old fashioned sweet or whiskey old fashioned sour, never just with a splash of water...learned something new.
Old fashions are great - but I want to know where the glass in the photo came from! Beautiful!!!
To the sconny above - my grandmother's drink of choice is a southern comfort old fashioned, with the fruit, and topped off with 7-up. A slight variation on the standard brandy. Personally, I like the bourbon/fruity version with a splash of seltzer.
There is a school of thought that contends that the real Old Fashioned must never contain muddled fruit. Hear them out, I think they make a great case: Robert Hess, on the Old Fashioned: http://www.smallscreennetwork.com/video/42 Rachel Maddow, making the original Old Fashioned: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ccqDlu0kuI Shawn Soole, on the original Old Fashioned: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYs87krZ41k Chris McMillian (a famous bar tender from New Orleans) on the Old Fashioned: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEr7ym4-r5I If you watch all of them, you'll see that many of these top bar tenders contend that muddled fruit has no part in this cocktail. I've had it both ways, and I really like it without the muddled fruit.
Gotta go with the Luxardo Marasca cherries (can get them at Amazon or Kegworks) - you'll never use one of those bright red things again. Muddle one of those babies and you're in old fashioned heaven.
Like Feisty Bourbon, "Mad Men" turned me onto the Old-Fashioned. I got some bitters (Peychaud's) and recently made a couple using the only whiskey I had around, which was Jack Daniels. yes, I know.. you don't have to say how wrong that is. I'll go pick some rye up soon, and also a decent bourbon, maybe get some Angostura bitters and cherries. But I despise maraschino cherries. Something that red cannot be good for you.
I love that Don Draper has brought this drink back (looked up the recipe and found this). IMHO all that fruit ruins the rye (which ISN'T rare, puh-leez, any good liquor store carries Old Overholt)
I'm "eh" on the drink, but where can I find that tumbler?? I love that frosty flower motif.
Good gravy - No muddling of a cherry or orange slice. Just sugar, bitters, water and bourbon/rye. The cherry adds nothing to the drink except looking like ugly bits of red, and muddling in an orange slice is putting too much juice into a drink that doesn't need it. If you want some orange in the drink (which I find a nice touch myself) you can either muddle a strip of orange rind with the sugar and bitters or pull a one inch or so strip of rind off an orange holding it over the drink while you do so then giving it a good squeeze and drop it in.
the highball is classically bourbon and ginger ale.. if this is two sweet, kill the cherry muddling and just pop it in at the end.. simple syrup is easier, but you can add a little water to the sugar (superfine is best here) and orange to muddle together instead... i prefer to think of this as a classic as opposed to old fashioned
As I remember it the Old Fashioned was made with a simple syrup and whisky and soda. It was not adorned with fruit. But I go back mucho years.
tried this one last night. i didnt get the classic glass but it did come a heavy tumbler. i usually order a manhattan but wanted to try another play on whiskey. i wasnt overly impressed but it was pretty good. the balance of sweet with the whisky and bitters was much better than a rusty nail. im looking forward to trying this one again on a warm summer evening with friends.
I love Old Fashioned's too. These days bartenders give you a strange look when ordering it. I guess because they are considered old fashioned...
I always thought that an Old Fashioned was made with simple syrup
As a proud Wisconsinite (it's our official "State Drink," outside of beer of course!) I'd have to throw in my vote for the Brandy Old Fashioned (Korbel if a true "sconny", not my personal Brandy of choice) with the addition of a speared cherry/green olive combo. That salty/sweet combo is the best! It's been my family's nightcap of choice for generations!
My fiance's family LOVES this drink. However, they like to use ginger ale as a mixer. It really helps to bring out the bitters and makes for a longer-lasting cocktail. I would also highly recommend bourbon over rye for its sweeter notes.l