WhiskyIntermediateDigestifs

Old Fashioned

Name: Old Fashioned
Total time: 5 min
Yield: 1
Ingredients: 60 ml bourbon or rye whiskey; 1 sugar cube (or 10 ml simple syrup); 2-3 dashes Angostura bitters; Orange twist; Ice (ideally one large cube)

Prep time: 5 mins

Whiskey, sugar, Angostura bitters and an orange twist. It is, almost word for word, the formula the word “cocktail” was first defined by in the early nineteenth century — spirit, sugar, water and bitters — which is why it allows no shortcuts: with so few things in it, every one of them shows.

Ingredients

60 ml bourbon or rye whiskey
1 sugar cube (or 10 ml simple syrup)
2-3 dashes Angostura bitters
Orange twist
Ice (ideally one large cube)

Preparation

In the glass, dissolve the sugar with the bitters and a few drops of water.
Add the whiskey and one large ice cube. Stir for 20-30 seconds.
Express the orange twist over the drink to release the oils and drop it in.

Bartender’s notes

Does it take vermouth?

No, and it is the most common mix-up with this drink. An Old Fashioned is whiskey, sugar and bitters; the moment you add sweet vermouth it stops being an Old Fashioned and becomes a Manhattan, which is a different classic with its own recipe here. The confusion makes sense: both are short, stirred whiskey drinks with Angostura. The difference is what sweetens them. Here it is sugar, which keeps the whiskey out front; in the Manhattan it is the vermouth, which also brings herbs and a base of wine.

Bourbon or rye?

Both are correct and the recipe takes either; what changes is the character. Bourbon, heavy on corn, comes out rounder and sweeter, with vanilla and caramel from the barrel. Rye is drier and spicier, with a peppery edge that makes the drink feel less sweet for the same sugar. If it is your first Old Fashioned, start with bourbon. If you find it cloying, do not cut the sugar: try rye, which fixes the same thing without throwing it off balance.

Go deeperWhich vermouth to use in each cocktailRed, dry or bianco, how much each classic takes, what to do without it, and why an open bottle ruins more cocktails than anything else.

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