When last we spoke of Mix It Mondays, I'd just put the briefest treatise of whiskey up, fully planning a monthlong ode to a favorite brown drink. Oh how naïve that feels now in a pandemic world. But you know what goes great with wistfulness? Whiskey. Specifically, a whiskey mixed into a cocktail that, historically, has seen some stuff: the Old-Fashioned.
The very first Old-Fashioned actually might have been made with gin (as documented in a recipe from the 1860s), but the whiskey classic we know took off in the 1880s. Credited to a club in Kentucky, it was soon showing up in New York (at the Waldorf), and not long after being published in newspapers across the country. Like all cocktails, it has surged in and out of popularity since then, but it deserves a rightful place in your repertoire.
Ah, but wait! Before you rush to your bar cart, I must warn you I have broken one of my rules by including this recipe. It calls for *gasp* another alcohol (sort of; it's complicated). I know, I know: this violates a basic tennent of Mix It Mondays: one booze at a time. But it's not like this is something you would drink on your own. It's a mixer. And this recipe is just too important to ignore. A proper Old-Fashioned calls for Angostura Bitters. Bitters could (and probably should) get their very own post to talk about the different brands, flavor profiles, etc. But honestly, that's not happening right now. Just trust me and go buy Angostura.
Now that I've gotten that crisis of faith out of the way, you will need:
1 sugar cube (or two teaspoons sugar)
3 dashes Angostura bitters
1 strip lemon zest (we'll talk)
1 orange slice (more talk)
1 maraschino cherry
2.5 oz. whiskey
2-3 oz. chilled club soda (optional)
You will also need some basic barware. For this, you will need:
A shot glass with actual .5 ounce markings
A muddler
A tumbler glass for serving
Now before you run off and panic buy the lemon and orange: I've had several old-fashioneds that had nothing more than the cherry. Or had the lemon and orange as a garnish, but clearly had done nothing to add it to the flavor profile. Frankly, I usually fix it without lemon and orange. I just don't normally have those on hand. I add a bit of citrus with a couple of dashes of bottled lemon juice (heresy). Yes, it tastes different without the fresh fruit additions. Correct: you are not being fully authentic if you leave them out (well, that depends on the recipe you follow....). But as I have repeatedly emphasized, I want these to be accessible to your average home mixologist. Sometimes sacrifices must be made. But for heaven's sake, get a jar of maraschino cherries. They are tasty and go well with ice cream.
This is one of those recipes that makes you feel like you know a thing or two. Put your sugar in the tumbler glass and saturate it with the bitters. Add the fruits and muddle it all together. Add some ice, the whiskey, and stir well. Top with the club soda if you like, get fancy with another orange wheel and cherry as garnish, then settle back and sip some history.
A little smoky, a little sweet, a lot of sexy.
Be sure to fix a couple more for Bogart and Bacall.
Cheers! Salud! Prost! Slainte! Soupy twist!