A classic American cocktail, traditionally offered as an apéritif, the old fashioned is composed of sugar soaked in bitters, such as Angostura, to which bourbon or rye whiskey is added and served with a large ice cube in a tumbler-type whiskey glass to which it gave its name: the old fashioned glass.
The composition of the old fashioned cocktail
The classic old fashioned cocktail recipe includes:
Bourbon, a type of whiskey produced in the United States from corn and other grains. The characteristics of bourbon are its golden color, the smell of oak, smoky aroma, vanilla, herbs, nuts and a strength of 40% or more. Certainly, many people do not prepare the Old Fashioned cocktail with bourbon but with whiskey, considering that its taste is more noble.
Bitter is a strong alcoholic drink (44.5%), infused with a variety of herbs, roots and fruits.
Sugar, to slightly soften the strength of the drink.
Still or sparkling water, used to slightly reduce the strength of the old fashioned.
Rye whiskey is also often used instead of bourbon or other whiskey. Rye whiskey was the dominant whiskey in North America until the prohibition era. Compared to bourbon whiskey, rye whiskey has a spicier, drier and more bitter taste.
What are bitters?
A bitter, also called “bitter liquor”, bitter or amaro, is a type of liqueur, apéritif or digestive, made from the infusion or maceration of bitter plants, mostly accompanied by other aromatic plants (herbs, spices) and / or citrus.
Bitters have an alcohol content of at least 15% by volume and up to 50%. They are mainly used as an apéritif or digestive, but they are also used in the composition of many cocktails.
The plants most commonly used to make bitters are bitter gentian (gentianella amarella), bitter orange peel (citrus aurantium), cascarilla (croton eluteria), cassia (cinnamomum cassia), and cinchona bark (cinchona officinalis).
Also found in most cases: angelica, lemon balm, lemon verbena, juniper, anise, fennel, turmeric, ginger, mint, thyme, sage, and many other aromatic and medicinal plants.
What is the origin of old fashioned?
Originally, the old fashioned cocktail was actually called the old fashioned whiskey cocktail.
The word “cocktail” would have appeared for the first time at the dawn of the 19th century, on May 3, 1806, in the New York newspaper The Balance, and Columbian Repository and mixed cocktails of similar composition to the old fashioned also appeared in 1806.
In the May 13, 1806 issue, the newspaper’s editor described it as “A stimulating liquor, composed of any strong alcohol, sugar, water and bitter.”
27 years later, in 1833, a drink served in New York with a nutmeg-shaped decoration bore a similar name.
In the 1860s, absinthe and liqueurs were added to cocktails, including Curaçao, an orange liqueur
In fact, the original recipe of the old-fashioned most often used not bourbon, as it is now written in the official composition of the drink in the IBA (International Bartenders Association), but rye whiskey.
But, according to tradition, it is believed that the old fashioned cocktail was first used in a gentlemen’s club Pendennis Club in Louisville, Kentucky, founded in 1881.
The invention of the cocktail would belong to the barman of this club. The Old Fashioned was served by this bartender to a regular visitor, Colonel James E. Pepper (1867-1906), who fell in love with it and shared his recipe with the bartender of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York, which ultimately gave the cocktail its great popularity.
Colonel James E. Pepper, years later, after his retirement, started making American whiskey, bourbon, becoming a major producer in the United States.
Long after its invention, around the 1930s, the old fashioned cocktail began to be garnished with a slice of orange and a cocktail cherry.
Given its design rooted in the history of the city of Louisville, in 2015 the city named the old fashioned as its official cocktail. Each year, during the first two weeks of June, Louisville celebrates Old Fashioned Fortnight which includes bourbon events, cocktail specials and National Bourbon Day which is always celebrated on June 14.
Old fashioned
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar (or white sugar)
- 4 dashes Angostura bitters
- ½ teaspoon water
- 2 oz. bourbon whiskey (or rye whiskey)
- 1 orange , organic
- 1 maraschino cherry
- 1 large ice cube
Instructions
- Using a paring knife, gently remove the zest from the orange. Be careful not to press too much in order to avoid collecting much of the pith which is the most bitter part of the orange. Set aside.
- Place the sugar cube in an old fashioned (lowball) glass and add the bitters.
- Add the water and, using a pestle, stir pressing until the sugar is almost dissolved.
- Add the whiskey and stir to combine well.
- Add a large ice cube.
- Garnish with orange zest and a maraschino cherry and serve immediately.
Mike is “the devil” of the 196 flavors’ duo. Nicknamed as such by his friends, he is constantly in search of unusual recipes and techniques with impossible to find ingredients. The devil is always pushing the envelope, whether it is with humor or culinary surprises.
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