Call Me Old Fashioned
-
Kevin Godbee - Nov 12, 2014
- 7 min read
Ethan Brandt
Welcome, friend. What’s your poison? We as pipe smokers, whether we actively accept this aspect of ourselves or not, are at least slightly fascinated with the old fashioned, the antique, the archaic, or, as we prefer to call it: the Classic.
I remember recently reading a post on a Facebook page dedicated to gentlemanly pipe smokers, where the members shared their obsessions other than pipes. Responses included pocket-watches, well-cut suits, knives, hats, old-school lighters, and beyond. Perhaps the most common classic obsessions that I have noticed many pipe smokers share is an appreciation for a well-crafted cocktail. After all, a cocktail is very similar to a tobacco blend: some are simple and showcase one dominant flavor, while others show finesse in combining flavors that might not be expected but result in a transcendental experience. Arguably, at least I will happily argue, that many of the best cocktails are some of the oldest. Far too frequently, these delicate masterpieces are ignored in favor of their modern decedents, like the "Jäger-bomb", that abandon technique in favor of a quick buzz.
That is what this monthly column will seek to fight against. Instead, we will revisit the older, classic cocktails that were enjoyed in speakeasies, which master mixologists would prepare with absolute care of proportions. It is my hope that this will encourage you all to go out and order one of these classics and then share your experience with the cocktail.
Since we’re discussing old fashioned cocktails, there seems no better place to start than with the Old Fashioned. The Old Fashion is known as the "World’s First Classic Cocktail" and has an initial recipe dating all the way back to 1806.1 This places the recipe well before the origin of the martini or the daiquiri.
Initially, the drink was a simple play off of straight whiskey, where a bitters soaked sugar cube was ground into water, chilled with ice, and then, more often than not, the bartender passed the whiskey to the patron to pour as much as he desired. You can almost see it and hear it, can’t you? The good-natured bartender patiently allowing a single sugar cube to infuse with the botanical bitters before crushing it into a small portion of water, then a deliberately chosen chunk of ice – enough to chill the drink, but not enough to destroy the flavor of the whiskey – clinks into the preferred glass (now called an Old Fashioned glass). Finally, the bartender slides the bottle across the bar to you with a smile.
Photo by Ethan Brandt
Eventually, mixologists started to notice that the public was responding well to variations upon a simple whiskey. So, naturally, they started to experiment more and trying newer, more exotic flavors. Not everyone was so keen on that, however, so patrons starting ordering an old-fashioned cocktail, giving the cocktail the name that has since become so famous.2
There are predominant camps when it comes to the preparation of the Old Fashioned. The schism appears to have its origin in the American Prohibition. In the 1930s, a new method of preparation involving muddling fruit into the drink emerged, either through actually using a muddler or shaking the cocktail with ice and fruit in a shaker. The likely reason for this is that the quality as well as quantity of alcohol decreased during Prohibition. Those who were able to surreptitiously acquire whiskey were stuck with a lower quality product. The solution? Add fruit to conceal the flavor of the low quality spirit.
This new trend continued well beyond Prohibition and can still be seen occasionally when ordering an Old Fashioned today. So, let’s get down to the business of making and tasting this classic cocktail.
As mentioned, there are two primary camps:
Purist:
- Place one sugar cube in the bottom of an Old Fashioned glass
- Soak the sugar cube using two or three dashes of bitters
- Add a small splash of water
- Crush the sugar using a wooden muddler, ideally, but a spoon will work
- Add one good sized ice cube (one large cube just looks better)
- Add two ounces of whiskey – rye or bourbon, your call.
Prohibitionist / Modern (Method 1):
- Muddle fruit (usually cherry or orange peel or both), sugar, and two or three dashes of bitters in a pint glass
- Add ice and two ounces of whiskey
- Shake and serve over ice with a fruit garnish of orange slice, cherry, or both
Prohibitionist / Modern (Method 2):
Same as above, except don’t muddle, just shake ingredients and ice together, allowing the ice to muddle the mixture
There are, of course, other variations, but this essentially sums up the major schools of thought.
In my first stop in exploring this cocktail, I hit up my usual watering-hole, The Scottish Arms, in Saint Louis. A Scottish pub, as shown by its food and scotch selection, whose bartenders I have come to know and trust. I saddled up and stated my purpose. The bartender produced a Prohibitionist version of the cocktail, muddling a cherry and orange peel, along with orange infused bitters and a packet of sugar. As a finishing touch, she temporarily ignited the orange peel garnish to help it release its oils and aroma.
The cocktail was pinkish in hue and quite fruity. It was quickly apparent to me why this method would have gained popularity during the Prohibition: despite using a good rye, I could barely make out the rye’s qualities because of all of the fruit flavors. Though enjoyable and sweet, I’m someone who like to be able to appreciate the primary ingredient, which I could not in the heavy Prohibitionist version.
Next, onto Taste in the Central West End area of Saint Louis. This bar is known for its fine cocktails and puts quite an effort into its classics, devoting an entire section of its cocktail menu to "classics". The classics section was even organized chronologically, though it placed the mint julep as the earliest, immediately before the Old Fashioned…I’ll have to check this out soon! As for the cocktail, this was served in a middle-of-the-road style, with the orange and lemon peel served only as a garnish, allowing the fruits’ oils to give a very mild flavor. I really liked this rendition, as it still gave a slight fruitiness while allowing the bourbon to shine. This would probably be my preferred preparation method for a hot summer day.
Photo by Ethan Brandt
Finally, in my own, modest home bar. Without even going out to pick up supplies, I had all the ingredients for a purist rendition of an Old Fashioned – simplicity being one of the beautiful qualities of the drink. It took me very little time to make and I took great satisfaction from actually grinding the soaked sugar cube into the glass. Since I was home and away from disapproving eyes, I decided to pair my final Old Fashioned of the day – yes, I drank all three renditions in one day – with some aged McCranie’s Red Ribbon out of an Adam Davidson fig. This version of the Old Fashioned is my personal favorite. The bourbon shines and the hint of botanicals from the bitters, the sweetness of the sugar, and the cold water and ice made this an extremely drinkable, nuanced, yet minimalistic cocktail. Paired with the sweet Virginia of the Red Ribbon, both complimented each other without one overpowering the other.
Overall, this is a cocktail I knew I enjoyed previously and one for which I have an even greater appreciation now.
What about you, fine people? Which method do you prefer for your Old Fashioned? Which tobacco do you pair yours with? Try it out at home and be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Editor’s Note: You can see our exclusive video of the making of the Old Fashioned just below. We were graciously hosted by Jeremy Wallace, the owner of The Cask & Ale in Downtown St. Petersburg, Florida, which is one of my favorite and often frequented places.
[HTML1]
Places mentioned in the article:
The Cask & Ale
29 3rd St N
St. Petersburg, FL 33701
727-800-6922
http://www.thecaskandale.com/
The Scottish Arms
8 S Sarah St
St. Louis, MO 63108
314-535-0551
http://www.thescottisharms.com/
Taste
4584 Laclede Ave,
St. Louis, MO 63108
314-361-1200
http://tastebarstl.com/
Photo by Barry Lively of B. Lively Images
—————————-
1. See "The Old Fashioned: The Story of the World’s First Classic Cocktail, With Recipes and Lore", by Robert Simonson.
2. Simonson.
Ethan Brandt is a second-year Law student at Washington University in St. Louis, focusing primarily on Constitutional Law. He has a blog all about pipes called Pipe School and has had pipe-related pieces published at Smokingpipes, Quality Briar, and works closely with The Briar Portrait Gallery. He picked up his first pipe his freshman year of college and never looked back. |
Written by Kevin Godbee
15 Responses
Smokingpipes.com Updates
72 Fresh Peterson Pipes |
New Cigars |
3 Fresh Tao Pipes |
24 Fresh BriarWorks Pipes |
3 Fresh Askwith Pipes |
Recent Posts
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 548! Our featured interview tonight is with Andre Tessier. Andre was born and raised on Long Island, New York and still resides there today. He is a member of the New York City Pipe Club, and is the Secretary for the United Pipe Clubs of America. He is also a member of New York Sky Blues which is New York City’s Official Supporters Club branch of Manchester City. At the top of the show, Brian will give us an update on his custom-blended tobacco that he’s been aging since December 2019. Sit back, relax with your pipe, and enjoy The Pipes Magazine Radio Show!
I actually don’t really know. I mean, I have some vague idea, more of a guess, a sort of order of magnitude dart throw. I swear, this isn’t a point of pride or some kind of bench racing brag, but rather something closer to embarrassment. As I wander through the boxes, racks, pouches, bags full of pipes, in an attempt to 1) get them into a semblance of order, and 2) think about thinning the herd a little, it’s feeling a little daunting. Worse, it’s not the first time I’ve been through this, and I’m afraid it might not be the last. It all began at a time when I would answer the question, “How many pipes do you need?” with the ever so witty, “Just one more.” I know I’m not alone there. I sometimes feel like there should be a twelve-step program for the pipe acquisition afflicted. But, they’re such compelling little things; tiny works of functional art, where the beauty of the wood and the skill of the maker come together to yield something that’s too often hard to resist. I easily recall my early days as a young pipe smoker, enthusiast, burgeoning collector, fanatic, whatever I was at the time. I was full of wild enthusiasm towards building up a good collection. It began with just wanting a nice seven-day set, so I could let my pipes rest a week between smokes as I was told was necessary for optimal smoking. That happened fairly quickly, though my seven pipes weren’t all anything to be truly proud of. Then, I wanted enough pipes for two weeks, because I began to think that if one week of rest was good, two would surely be better. After that, it really did seem a good idea to have different pipes for different types of tobacco. (I still adhere to this notion fairly strictly.) And, then there should be smaller pipes for shorter smokes, larger ones for the longer, leisurely periods. See where it starts? When we’re told that a seven-day “set” is an almost necessary practicality, at least if we’re going to truly enjoy smoking a pipe on a daily basis, “they” might as well give us the first one free. The seven-day, at least for me, quickly revealed itself to be a gateway drug, leading me by the hand down a dark corridor to a much more sinister affliction. So, thus disordered over the years, I’ve found myself collecting brands, makers, pipes from specific countries, shapes, finishes – if there’s a way to categorize pipes, I’ve probably at some point had a sub-collection specializing in that particular categorization. I’m a pipe nerd; things like this are bound to happen. At some point in the journey, I had the bizarre notion that if I ever were ever to reach 100 pipes, I’d surely have enough, and I could stop looking for new ones. Or, perhaps better still, the collection could remain at or near that figure by careful selling and trading. This delusional strategy worked just fine. Until it didn’t. The collection continued to grow. More and more of the pipes in my collection began to take on some sort of emotional value. I’ve mentioned in the past that pipes can be talismans of events, or even more importantly, of people. Recently, I was reminded of an old friend who sold me a very special Castello 55 from his own collection. He is no longer with us, but that pipe will always remind me of him, of his vast knowledge, freely shared, of Castello pipes. I now have a lot of pipes like that. Some of them I smoke regularly, and the idea of parting with them never even occurs to me. Others, I don’t, for whatever reason, but when I think about putting them on the block, they whisper their stories in my ear, and back they go until the next round. The century mark has long ago come and gone. A bunch of years ago, I was fairly successful in weeding the garden a bit, selling off quite a few, and feeling quite proud of myself for thinking that, just maybe, I might once again find 100 pipes in my collection, this time coming at it from the other direction. I’m sure it’s no surprise that this hasn’t happened. What’s wrong with having so many, some would say too many pipes? It’s hard to find an answer I can really live with. I suppose perhaps the worst thing is that some of them, even the special ones, might be too-long ignored. Maybe this isn’t really a bad thing. Once in a while, there’s the opportunity to rediscover some old gem, listen again to the stories it might tell, put it into rotation for a while, and experience it all over again. Maybe it’s just keeping track of everything amidst my disorganized chaos, or finding suitable ways to display them all, while keeping them clean and dusted, or just finding them if they’re bagged up in their fancy leather gloves. Maybe it’s just me fostering feelings of excess, latent notions of decadent overindulgence. I should talk with my therapist about that. What I do know is that no matter how, or how many times I examine my “condition,” the same conclusion persists. I have a lot of pipes, and it’s highly likely that this will not only be an enduring condition, but it’s probably only going to get worse. There are times when a particular piece just stops speaking to me, and even that can be a problem. In the past, I’ve too hastily sold off or traded a piece that no longer felt special, only to years later regret parting with it, wishing I’d kept it. Or worse, scouring estate pipe offerings looking for it, or at least a suitable stand-in. There was this lovely old Charatan Executive, you know, and a pair of Larsen bulldogs, one straight, the other bent, that were different from any seen […]
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 547! Our featured interview tonight is with Dan Croxall. This is the third in our series of interviews with “Journeymen Pipe Smokers” – guys that have been smoking pipes between five and 10 years. Dan is a professor at his alma mater, the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. Prior to returning to academia, Dan practiced law at the world’s largest law firm (DLA Piper LLP) as a complex civil litigator and white-collar criminal defense attorney. He then opened the world’s smallest law firm (Croxall Law) in 2013 to focus his practice on representing California Craft breweries and related parties. At the top of the show, Brian will have a trip report on his visit to Jackson, MS to The Country Squire for the party and last recording of the Country Squire Radio Podcast. Sit back, relax with your pipe, and enjoy The Pipes Magazine Radio Show!
Guilty pleasures—we all have them; whether it’s bingeing the latest water-cooler television show, midnight-snacking entire pints of ice cream, or devoting hours to an online debate that we’re sure we’ve won. Us pipe snobs (face it, if you’re reading this article, you’re likely past the point of no return into the hobby) often catch flack—or give flack—for full aromatic blends, mistakenly thinking them the piper’s equivalent of a bike with training wheels, or confections for filthy casuals. A true pipe smoker, such prevailing wisdom may say, can only find enlightenment in the most mephitic of concoctions, the kernel of bodhi within which they have unlocked through years of trial and sacrifice, with wonderful tastes that they alone know how to perceive, naysayers be damned! Well, that’s poppycock. As the holidays came and went, I thoroughly enjoyed working my way through the tins of the aromatic C&D offerings reviewed in the last column, finding subtle little hints of new flavors here and there with every bowl full; I was particularly saddened when I went to re-order them and found them sold out; perhaps my guilty pleasure of being an unabashed aromatic smoker was not so singular as I had presumed? Such it was that I found myself pondering as I navigated the streets of the Financial District and popped in to Barclay-Rex, the City’s oldest family-run tobacconist—and indeed one of the few left of its ilk anywhere. Perusing through their offerings for new review material, my eye was drawn to the jazz-age graphic of a couple of flamenco dancers mid-embrace on a rose-colored tin of Ashton’s Guilty Pleasure, a no-pretense aromatic manufactured by Kohlhase & Kopp for the Ashton brand. Sure, there were English and cigar-leaf blends aplenty, various Virginias as far as the eye could see, but my holiday sweet tooth had not quite yet been fully sated. “This glorious mixture of Cavendish, Virginia and Carolina burley carries an irresistible aroma of vanilla, mango, and exotic citrus,” reads the tin, promising an immodestly candied experience. Kohlhase & Kopp have produced many of my favorite aromatic blends, notably the erstwhile Peterson special editions, so I had great confidence that the tobacco would be of the best quality and not a waste of my time or money, as the price of tobacco in Manhattan is on the verge of requiring a bank loan. Popping the tin certainly confirmed this hypothesis; it unleashed a bright and floral confectionery sweetness that was sure to send the burliest he-man Latakiaphile running for the hills. The tobacco itself was that perfect melange of light-gold to dark-mahogany leaf of consistent cut that is a trademark of K&K blends in my experience. Parsing the aromas back in the laboratory, I kept searching for vanilla and mango—‘exotic citrus’ being indefinite enough to discount. Vanilla firmly chimes in as an overall binding aroma that the fruity notes couch themselves within, but I found mango or citrus aromas neither overt nor distinct in the blend; rather, they are verbal proxies for the overall sweetness and fruitiness with a decidedly floral bent of the bouquet; in fact the unique and unmistakable—though confoundingly unspecific—flavor of Necco wafers popped into my head as the best analog, a notion which would later prove to be shockingly precise. Even after weeks of an open-and-closed tin while sampling, the aroma remains quite strong and readily induces salivation. Not to say that it’s done with too heavy or indelicate a hand—the tobaccos are clearly highest quality and allowed to shine through the mix to shape the smoke, which is quite a bit more restrained than the tin note would suggest. Puffing through a half-dozen bowls in search of the best instrument, I found the smoke then to be quite good and much more rounded than merely aromatic, if perhaps lacking a little in real depth, particularly held up against the last review blends mentioned. Bowl after bowl it presented quite brightly on top and faded to a good sweet nutty Cavendish-burley by mid-bowl, and tapered down slowly through to the heel—a heel that was easily reached with slow sipping and temperature control as well as a few rest periods and relights, and not goopy at all. Once I’d honed in on the proper pipe, cadence, and drink pairing, it was sweet heaven through the end of the tin. As for the room note, it is sweet but rather tame compared to the tin note; I would place both flavor and room note on the bright and fruity side of mild-to-medium. While swapping out pipes to find a good mate for this blend I stumbled upon my cache of several years’ worth of Kaywoodie pipes from the holiday dinner and slow-smoke, to my good fortune. The straight billiards and clay cutty I started with weren’t really bringing out the full experience of the blend, tending to get too hot past top-bowl and not really hitting the mark on the aromatic notes while smoking. The delightful Shellcraft half-bent billiard pictured, handmade by Bill Feuerbach of very old-stock Algerian briar and vulcanite stem, nailed it like Mary Lou Retton on a floor routine—the perfect geometry of chamber to coax down a small ember, and the bend deep enough that the smoke could drift up to the nose easily for sidestream olfaction, all at barely an ounce of weight—as fine as any Dunhill in my collection, not to mention a repository of fond memories. There’s a lesson to be learned here: before finding just the right pipe, the blend would score below fair-to-middling; after, it was sweet euphoria. Finding the best drink pairing for such a sweet blend proved challenging as well. Sometimes the notions come to me and I test them out to find they work perfectly, other times it’s down to a more Edisonian approach: determine the prevailing notes and alkalinity, then find drinks to congenially act as foils or amplifiers through brute force trial and error. In general it’s a good start to look for mildly acidic drinks, […]
Ah, yes, March rolls in a-roarin’ like a lion and trots out like a sweet, innocent little lamb. So they say, whoever they are. Let’s not forget college basketball’s March Madness is also in this maelstrom. And Pundit is here to tell you that means only one thing, my pipe-loving amigos. The weather is getting about right and it’s time to grab a pipe and a new blend. And make certain the tele is in good working order for crazy Final Four Bracket hoops time. Just what the Pundit had in mind: a new pipe and a new blend for this mad, mad, mad month. But first, a bit of history. It will be brief for you non-history aficionados out there. Shame, shame. So, there was a day when the Pundit was a touch wet behind the ears (groan) and green as a freshly harvested stalk of green tobacco (better). One day in the deep iron and wheels of Atlanta while sauntering about and looking at pipes in a corner shop, well-known then for its fine offerings of Charatans and other legendary pipes, a veteran B&M and owner suggested I take a peek at his Savinellis. Now being a be-bopping college guy, Pundit said, “sure, is it parked outside?” and proceeded to look about for a snappy Italian sportscar. Let’s just say the B&M veteran pipe store owner tried to hold back a cheek-filling guffaw before sputtering, “you are kidding, of course!” Not to expose more ignorance, I just nodded and stared at a wall of pipes. Welcome to Pundit’s introduction to the famed Italian pipe makers of Savinelli. Today, Pundit owns quite a few Savinells, especially the “author” or the 320 KS, 320, and 321 series. All three have that pure “writerly” look to the Pundit’s eye. In a word or three, Savinellis are exquisite works of operatic tone and aura. Yes, most Savinellis are machined but are completely finished by hand, meaning artisans take over from the industrial side to finish things. So, Pundit was off and puffing with Savinellis, especially when he found the author group. Throw in a couple of Savinelli handmade Autographs and the mighty Hercules style of Roman and Greek mythology to sweeten the herd. While on mystical thoughts, the Savinellis—which ring with foreign intrigue for the Pundit—opened a brave new world for fresh pipe adventures. No longer a stranger in a strange pipelandia, basket pipes of questionable heritage, gave way to handmade wonders to behold. Oh, the Pundit fell in love with the singular Savinelli Autographs, but this also brought into focus other Italian pipe makers, such as Ardor, Ser Jacopo, and Claudio Cavicchi, among others. This of course led to the sky is no limit sort of thinking. Next arrived the Great Danes, such as Neerup, Bjarne Nielsen, Harcourt, Stanwell, and Erik Stokkebye 4th Generation. You’ll note that none of these brands were in the stratospheric price range, such as a Bo Nordh. Then came a whole array of exquisitely made English pipes, such as Dunhill, Ashton, and Peterson (in the Irish tradition, of course, in pipe making in Great Britain). Never mind independent pipe-carvers, who abound in our galaxy of wonder. This is just a quick history of loping down one pipe-puffing lane, as it were. This is to say, pipe smokers of today are blessed and afforded such magnificent pieces of briar for smoking, relaxing and just simply enjoying a day away from stress and worry. Looking at you, March Madness! Just to be transparent, as they like to say in today’s media frenzy, Pundit apologizes for not alerting you to International Pipe Smoking Day on Feb. 20. Oh, the horror! So a respectful roundup of pipes in the Pundit pack serves as a kiss and make-up for overlooking one of our global events enjoyed by millions. And, yes, more expensive pipes do smoke better in most cases. However, I have a couple of basket pipes that outperform some herd pipes in the posh and ritzy crowd. For any newbies out there, in an old-school B&M, you can still find decent basket pipes. Later you can reach for the stars of pipe making and tobacco blending. Pundit began stuffing Prince Albert, Granger, Sir Walter Raleigh, and non-descript drug store bulk blends into his first pipes. It was good enough for many of my college professors, so I thought it would naturally make me smarter if I mimicked the academics. That scheme didn’t work out as planned. But there is always hope and another pipeful. So, here is to more pipes, more pipe tobacco, and more pipe puffing enjoyment for the wilds of March, and beyond. Now for our pipe-smoking celeb for March: Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known simply as Dr. Seuss, legendary children’s author. He was born March 2, 1904, in Springfield, Mass., and died: on Sept. 24, 1991, in San Diego, Calif. Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one—Dr. Seuss And a philosophical note from The Pundit: Ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus philosophized around 535 BC that “change is the only constant in life.” Pundit, a primordial pipelospher says “constant change in pipes and tobacco is the life.”
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 546! Our featured interview tonight is with Jon David Cole. JD is the Owner/Tobacconist at The Country Squire in Jackson, MS, and he is the co-host of the podcast, Country Squire Radio. After a 10-year run, and approaching their 500th episode, it was announced that they would record their last episode live on March 4 at a big party in Jackson, MS. Read the press release here. In addition to talking about the podcast and the retail store, our main discussion will be JD’s recommended pipe tobaccos in each genre that are readily available for purchase, as opposed to vintage collectible tobaccos that are hard to get. At the top of the show, Brian will answer a question on how to proceed when your friend wants to try smoking a pipe for the first time. Sit back, relax with your pipe, and enjoy The Pipes Magazine Radio Show!
Great article. I plan on decreasing the amount of spirits I keep on hand. Mostly due to the fact that my friends rarely have anything other than a beer, so seldom does anyone ask for something from the bar.
I lean to bourbons and rums. With those I can still make a varying degree of cocktails. The “Old Fashioned” will be one of those go-to recipes. Just need some bitter and sugar cubes.
Wonderful read!
This is a wonderful article, and a super addition to the website. Thanks for an entertaining read and I’ll surely look forward to more in the near future. There’s no end to the vast array of recipes containing tobacco and alcohol. I guess that’s where it will end here, we have two out of three contained in ATF
Well researched, well written, worthwhile. (Although, speaking as an adjunct law prof, I have to wonder if you shouldn’t be getting ready for exams.)
I learned how to mix an Old Fashioned when I was about 10 years old, it being my folks’ favorite drink, a taste they acquired in the post WWII cocktail boom. At our house they were always made in the purist style (fruit as a garnish only) and always with bourbon, except for one uncle who would always as for a Scotch Old Fashioned which was then rendered — heaven forgive me — with Cutty Sark.
Forty-five years later, I much more inclined to drink a single malt, or perhaps bourbon or rye on the rocks, than to order a cocktail. And when I order the rare cocktail, it’s likely to be a Manhattan. But once or twice a year — often at the holidays — I’ll get or make an Old Fashioned for nostalgia’s sake. And having read this, I suppose I will do so tonight.
Good article!
That looks mouth watering good, especially on a cold Texas Hill Country day like today.
Put me squarely into the purist category. Fruit just detracts from the fine quality of the ingredients we have access to today.
My preferred method is to soak my cube of sugar with Pechyaud’s bitters, and I use about 4-5 dashes. But, I’m not particular about the whiskey, and have used any bourbon and rye on hand.
Went home last night and my son mixed me an Old Fashioned in the purist fashion. (I’d forwarded him the article which he enjoyed very much.) It was . . . wonderful. Nostalgia in a glass of spirits.
Then he mixed me another. And just one more.
Thanks for the fine attention to a wonderful topic.
tslex, don’t worry! I’m studying! 🙂
With the explosion in smaller micro-distilleries happening, it’s nice to see so many of the classics coming back. I had my first old-fashioned not all that long ago, and I’m looking forward to getting back around to try another.
Wow, I’m really, really looking forward to this column! Within the past months I’ve been getting more and more into classic mixology as well and I’m thrilled abouth what the next articles will bring. Some time ago, Neill Archer Roan already wrote about the Sazerac as a good pairing with English tobaccos, and it works really well for me, too. I’ve also made great experiences with Manhattans in several variations (here you can play nicely with different brands of whiskey, vermouth and bitters) as well as sours when you want a refreshing summer drink (especially the classic Daiquiri with a good, aged rum).
Thanks for this very interesting new topic!
Eddy
Informative article, Hope to see more of them!!!
The first mixed drink I ever had was bourbon Old Fashioned. That was in the late fifties. Still tadtes good.
Purist here. Most bartenders today don’t have a clue how to make an Old Fashioned. I usually have to school them, step by step. They ALWAYS muddle the fruit. WRONGO! That’s as bad as Ketchup on a hot dog. Never!
The Old Fashioned is a Whiskey drink, not some sissified, froo-froo “chick drink”.
Sugar cube, bitters, splash of water, muddle sugar and bitters, ice, 2oz. RYE Whiskey, splash of soda, stir, add cherry and orange slice as a garnish. DONE!
And a proper Martini is made with GIN, not Vodka. And certainly not apple, chocolate, cherry, etc., flavors. Ewwww.
Of course, drink what you like and like what you drink.
Cheers.
CACooper
Love The Cask and Ale and their Old Fashions! For such a simple drink, I’v never tried it at home. This article inspired me to make one tonight. Good stuff.