The Old Fashioned

No longer just a breakfast drink! Come along all you Reluctant Bartenders, and we'll show you just how easy and fun it is to make the first known American cocktail.

The Old Fashioned (copyright The Reluctant Bartender)

Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients: Rye or bourbon, bitters, twist
Gear: rocks glass, muddler, bar spoon, big ice
Flavor Profile: Spirit forward, complex
Countdown to Enjoyment: 4-6 minutes

Recipe:
2 ounces rye or bourbon
1 sugar cube
Two dashes Angostura bitters
Water

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Introducing the Old Fashioned

(Click here to go directly to the recipe and instructions.)

What's in a name?

The Old Fashioned lays claim to being the very first cocktail. Its original name was simply, "whiskey cocktail" and was often recommended as a bracing and stimulating morning wake-up. No one is entirely sure of the origins of the drink.

Indeed, no one is entirely sure of the origins of the word cocktail.

The earliest known reference to the cocktail being associated with a specific drink can be traded back to May 13, 1806. An upstate New York newspaper, The Balance and Columbian Repository, published the following in an attempt to define for readers the meaning of the compound word “cock-tail”:

"Cock-tail, then, is a stimulating liquor, composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water, and bitters…"

That’s it right there, the very ingredients of an Old Fashioned: spirit, sugar, water, bitters.

Interesting that this earliest known reference to the concoction did not specify a type of liquor. It is likely that this new drink, the cock-tail, was made with bourbon, rye, brandy, or gin. Also interesting is that the concoction carried with it the rather generic name of whiskey cocktail, brandy cocktail, etc. and would carry those monikers for many more decades. It wasn't until the late 1880s that the name Old Fashioned was given to the version of the drink that featured whiskey in the mix to the recipe

It was at this time in the late 19th century that the world was undergoing a mixology revolution of sorts. Bartenders, in an attempt to fortify their personal brands, were adding any number of new and different ingredients to the recipes of the day, including absinthe, Chartreuse, curacao, vermouth and more. Some of these inclusions resulted in drinks that were more successful than others. These new formulations were known as "improved" cocktails, yet there was little agreement on whether these new drinks were actual improvements on the old recipes.

Some of the improved drinks survived. (The Manhattan is a shining example of a new drink that stood above the rest in this era.)

What about the other supposedly improved drinks? Many customers felt they were gimmicky, overwrought, and just plain bad. Bar patrons started asking their bartenders for "old fashioned whiskey cocktails".

Shorten that a bit, and the generic whiskey cocktail becomes the Old Fashioned, distinguishing the recipe from the modern, improved drinks being promoted at the time.

Yeah, but what's in the drink?

We've answered what's in the name, now let's explore what's in the drink! There is a bit of controversy regarding the ingredients among fans of the cocktail. Some insist the drink shines with muddled fruit. Others want it topped off with 7-Up, and the purists rage against all of it.

The source of the controversy stems from the sheer length of time the drink has been around, and the various things bartenders have tried in an effort to improve upon the original, rustic formula. The Old Fashioned has been sliding across bar tops for over 200 years, and along the way the drink picked up a number of bad habits.

Let's see what Robert Simonson in his excellent book, The Old Fashioned: The Story of the World's First Classic Cocktail, has to say on the subject:

"No cocktail has endured the same roller-coaster ride of reputation. It has had every sling and arrow of barroom fashion thrown at it. That will happen when a drink—nearly alone among its brothers—sticks around for two centuries, never having completely fallen out of favor, and having avoided being crushed under the wheel of progress called Prohibition.

Once a simple assemblage of whiskey, sugar, and bitters, restless bartenders have dashed into it absinthe, curaçao, maraschino liqueur--all fancy liqueurs that found their place on the backbar in the mid-nineteenth century.

[Along the way] it's been a fruit salad, with lemon, orange, cherry, and pineapple piled high atop its rim to delight the eye of the decadent Gilded Age tipplers. Later, sometime after Prohibition, the fruit sunk to the bottom in a muddled mess. It's been shellacked with seltzer, sour mix, and lemon-lime soda, and made with rye, bourbon, and brandy."

In the spirit of simplicity that drives us here at The Reluctant Bartender, the Old Fashioned recipe put forth below will hue closer to its rustic origins as the whiskey cocktail, forgoing the fancy additions, fruit muddling, etc.

This is not to say that you wouldn’t enjoy an Old Fashioned with muddled fruit. Give it a try, Reluctant reader! For our purposes here, we’ll keep it simple.

Whiskey, sugar, bitters, and water is all we need. We'll push the boundaries of simple with the addition of citrus twist, but that will remain optional.

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Notes on how to make the Old Fashioned

Get yourself a glass

The Old Fashioned is a category of drink that is made in the same glass in which it is served. Your glass of choice should be a rocks glass. This makes the Old Fashioned super simple, in that it requires little other than the base ingredients, and the glass to hold it. Oh, and a muddler.

Big Ice needed

We here at The Reluctant Bartender want to make things as simple as possible for you, dear reader. There are certain niceties that are, in our opinion, unavoidable. For the Old Fashioned, you're going to want to use Big Ice. Not the little cubes from your ‘fridge. You want a single, large ice cube.

In our entry on gear, we'll talk in more detail, but for now get yourself one of these.

Why? Because Big Ice cools the drink without watering it down. The relatively smaller surface area of the single large block of ice, compared to many smaller pieces of ice, causes it to melt much more slowly and in a way that is quite pleasurable. The drink will slowly evolve, and you'll notice this as you sip.

Now listen: if you use a bunch of little ice from the 'fridge, the cocktail police will not break down your door shouting freeze! Just know that if you're using little ice cubes, the drink will get noticeably watered down and this will happen quickly. You may be fine with that, but when serving guests Big Ice is welcome. It's also an impressive touch to an otherwise simple libation.

#BigIce

Bourbon or Rye?

We here at The Reluctant Bartender understand that there are a TON of options for whiskey in your Old Fashioned. In keeping with our philosophy of simple, we will make some basic recommendations. You will find as you learn more about the various spirits available that you're leaning towards one or the other.

For now, some gentle guidance.

To put it simply: rye will be spicier, bolder; bourbon will be softer and have a rounder mouth feel.

If you're new to cocktails or new to American whiskey, use bourbon. If you're a little more adventurous, try the rye.

We'll make three specific recommendations:

Old Forrester 86 Bourbon: this will make a classic, balanced cocktail. The slight sweetness of the bourbon will add a velvety mouth feel to your Old Fashioned.

Evan Williams 100: this will make a stronger cocktail with more punch on the palate. The higher proof spirit will make a hotter cocktail with more kick, but will still have good flavor.

Bulleit Rye: this will make an Old Fashioned with more spice, but also more character. The rye will be more rustic. Best for folks who like more complexity to their flavor profiles.

Regardless of which spirit you choose, you're going to have an excellent cocktail to share, so don't stress. Enjoy the drink for what it is! Compare the various flavors. Have fun.

Sugar or simple syrup?

The Reluctant Bartender recommends using a muddled sugar cube, but there's nothing wrong with using simple syrup if you adjust for the water, accordingly.

Simple syrup is just sugar dissolved in water. There are different ratios of sugar to water, but the most common ratio is 1:1. Dissolve one cup of sugar in one cup of water, and you have simple syrup.

You can save some drink prep time by making simple syrup ahead of time, though to be honest, muddling a sugar cube doesn't take so much time that it will make a difference--that is, unless you're making a lot of Olds Fashioned.

What bitters?

We recommend the classic Angostura bitters for this recipe. That said, as your confidence grows, you should experiment with other classic bitters—Peychaud's, Fee Brothers—as well as new and interesting bitters that you discover

Prepping the Old Fashioned

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Recipe and Step-by-Step Instructions

Ingredients:

2 1/2 ounces of Rye or Bourbon
1 sugar cube
2-3 dashes of Angostura bitters
1 barspoon of warm water
1 hunk of Big Ice
Orange twist

Prep your cocktail:

1. Add one sugar cube to a rocks glass.

2. Wet the sugar cube with two or three dashes of bitters, and one bar spoon of warm water.

3. Using a muddler, muddle the sugar, bitters, and water into a slurry.

4. Add Big Ice.

5. Pour your whiskey of choice over the ice cube, into your rocks glass.

6. Garnish with a twist of orange (optional).

7. Serve, and enjoy.

There, that was easy wasn’t it? You now have in your hands the very first American Cocktail. 200 years of history make for an interesting story, and a handful of simple ingredients make for one fantastic drink. Enjoy!