The Old Fashioned

The Old Fashioned has been called the original cocktail so what better subject to do as the first of a series of cocktails you'll see on this blog.  The old fashioned seems to get its name from the flat bottomed glass that it is commonly served in.  Go figure.  My version of it uses rye whisky, Angostura Bitters, sugar, and orange and it goes something like this.

Add about tablespoon of sugar.  Some folks use a cube of sugar if it's handy.  Others will make a simple syrup concoction and use as needed. 

Add a couple dashes of bitters to the sugar.  You can find Angostura bitters at the grocery store.

Add a tablespoon or so of water.  Some folk swear that it be soda water. 

Muddle the sugar, bitters and water.  For you non mixology types, muddle can mean stir or work together.

Add about 2 ounces of rye whisky.

Add a few cubes of ice.  I have found that the smaller the cubes you use, the better.  The cubes I'm using in this series are your run of the mill large cubes.  Leave yourself a little room at the top.

Now with a bar spoon, or in this case a chop stick, stir the concoction.  What you want to accomplish here is to dissolve the sugar.  This part can take a while and where small ice cubes can speed things up considerably.  
Also, those folks who went to the trouble of preparing simple syrup ahead of time will be drinking their old fashioned by now.

But good things do come to those who wait.

So keep stirring, mon ami.

Run an orange along the rim of the glass and drop into the drink.

Add more cubes to build up the drink, and, yes, you guessed it, stir one more time.

Some folks would drop in a maraschino cherry as garnish. 

And here is my version of the Old Fashioned.

Like any classic there are many versions of this drink.  There are folks who make their old fashioned with bourbons like the two you see on the right, and some truly deranged people even use Brandy!  A Victoria cocktail bar,  Soloman's, makes the "In Seasonal Fashion" which consists of an ounce of rye, an ounce of bourbon, and home made bitters!  You heard that correctly.  They are making their own bitters!  If you like whisky, you will probably like this drink.  If you don't like whisky, you may want to look up a Nancy Drew.

BTW, please drink responsibly.  Rinse and Repeat.