It’s been a many years now since craft cocktail culture has really taken off. You’ll be hard pressed to find a restaurant that doesn’t have even a small cocktail list on offer. As someone who doesn’t really drink wine, I’m glad the cocktail trend has kept on rolling. Shout out of Don Draper for renewing people’s interest in booze on Mad Men.
Possibly the most classic cocktail every bartender should know how to make is an Old Fashioned. It’s been around since the 1800’s, and was one of the first drinks to help define the word cocktail. Composed traditionally of rum, gin, brandy, or sherry (and later more popularly with whiskey & bourbon), water, bitters and sugar, it’s a pretty distinguished drink that should take about 6-8 minutes to properly mix. The ice melts as you stir, diluting the mixture heavily in the mixing process, this cocktail is balanced yet bitter, and quite strong. The perfect slow sipper for the fall and winter season.
To mix one up proper, you’ll need a rocks glass (like a fine Japanese Yarai) large chunks of ice, jiggers, a muddler, and a bar spoon. We recently elevated our game with this gold teardrop Japanese spoon from BYOB which I’m pretty sure makes all cocktails taste fancier. While some prefer theirs made with Rye Whiskey, we like to make ours with Bourbon, so be sure to find yourself a bottle of the best quality Bourbon you can obtain before attempting a few rounds at home. You can also modify this cocktail by using different types of citrus rind, different bitters, cherries and various types of Bourbons.
Check out our method below now.
INGREDIENTS
1 Sugar Cube
3 Dashes Angostura Bitters
Club Soda
2 oz Bourbon
Orange Rind
Bourbon Soaked Cherries
METHOD
Place a sugar cube (preferably raw or brown) in the base of a cocktail glass and cover it with three dashes of Angostura bitters. Add a short dash of soda water and crush contents with a wooden muddler. If you like a heavier citrus twist, add a piece orange rind into the mix and muddle that down. Be sure the bitters and sugar line the glass.
Fill the glass with large chunks of ice and add Bourbon. Stir for at least 3-4 minutes to allow the water to temper the drink. Garnish with orange rind (if you haven’t already) and a bourbon cherry if you like.
