Old Fashioned

Revision as of 14:14, 10 April 2006

Old-fashioned Whiskey Cocktail.

A Cocktail in the Old Style (Fashion) consisting of Whiskey, Bitters, Ice, and Sugar.

Pre-cursor to the Old Fashioned Whiskey Cocktail

Jerry Thomas (1862)

Whiskey Cocktail

• (Use small bar-glass.)
• Take 3 or 4 dashes of gum syrup.
• 2 dashes of bitters (Boker's).
• 1 wine-glass of whiskey.

Fill one-third full of fine ice ; shake and strain in a fancy red wine-glass. Put in a piece of twisted lemon peel in the glass and serve.

The Old-Fashioned Myth

“Old Waldorf Bar Days” by Albert Stevens Crockett (1931)

This was brought to the old Waldorf in the days of its “sit-down” Bar, and introduced by, or in honor of, Col. James E. Pepper, of Kentucky, proprietor of a celebrated whiskey of the period. The Old-fashioned Whiskey cocktail was said to have been the invention of a bartender at the famous Pendennis Club in Louisville, of which Col. Pepper was a member.

Earliest Recipe

“Modern American Drinks” By George J. Kappeler (1895)

The Old-Fashioned Whiskey Cocktail:

"Dissolve a small lump of sugar with a little water in a whiskey-glass; add two dashes Angostura bitters, a small piece ice, a piece lemon-peel, one jigger whiskey. Mix with small bar-spoon and serve, leaving spoon in glass."

First occurence of Muddling Fruit in an Old-Fashioned Cocktail

“Burke’s Complete Cocktail and Tastybite Recipes”, by Harman Burney Burke (1936)

Old Fashioned Cocktail

• Whiskey, 1 Glass
• Sugar, 1 Lump
• Angostura Bitters, 2 Dashes
• Curacao or Absinthe, 2 Dashes

Add one Slice of Orange, one Slice of Lemon Peel, mull with the Bitters and Sugar, then add the Whiskey and serve in the same glass.

Common Recipes

Dick Bradsell's Recipe.

Note: This is the Recipe/ Method that most bartenders in London, England use.

• Ingredients:
• 50ml Bourbon
• 10ml sugar syrup
• 2 dash angostura bitters

Glass: Rocks

Method:

• In a glass put sugar & angostura.
• Add an ice cube and stir.
• 2 ice cubes and stir
• Add 25 mls bourbon and stir
• 2 ice cubes and stir
• Add 25 mls bourbon and stir
• 2 ice cubes and stir

Garnish: Orange twist

Drinkboy's Recipe

• 1/2 orange slice
• 1 cube sugar
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• 2 ounces rye or bourbon whiskey

Muddle orange, sugar, bitters together until the sugar is mostly dissolved. Fill glass with ice, then add the whiskey. Garnish with a marachino cherry, and perhaps an additional orange slice. Serve with a swizzle stick and/or straw

Good Old-Fashioned Quotes

“When properly made, this cocktail [the old fashioned] can represent the pinnacle of the bartenders trade. When done improperly, which is more often the case, it can be a disaster of mediocrity.”

– Robert Hess

“Cocktail Guide and Ladies’ Companion”, by Crosby Gaige, (1941)

“Serious-minded persons omit fruit salad from “Old Fashioneds,” while the frivolous window-dress the brew with slices of orange, sticks of pineapple, and a couple of turnips.”

'Young impudent sir,' he screamed, '...Man and boy I've built Old-Fashioned cocktails these 60 years...and I have never yet had the perverted nastiness of mind to put fruit in an Old-Fashioned. Get out, scram, go over to the Palmer House and drink.' I was rebuked."

External links

• Drinkboy's Article on the Old Fashioned
• Webtender - Old Fashioned