Old Fashioned

3 oz Bourbon (or rye)
1 cube Sugar (or 1 tsp simple syrup)
3 ds Bitters, Angostura
1 twst Lemon zest (as garnish)
Instructions

Wet sugar cube with bitters and a dash of soda or water in an old fashioned glass, muddle, add ice and whiskey, stir to dissolve thoroughly, garnish

Notes

Some prefer a fruity garnish, including an orange slice, lemon twist, and 2 maraschino cherries. Some top with a splash of soda. Perhaps more so than any other cocktail, the Old Fashioned may be endlessly varied by using different spirits, or by adding a dash of curacao, absinthe, or other liqueur. Some would argue that these latter additions make it an "Improved" cocktail.

History

The original cock-tail, a combination of whiskey, sugar, bitters, and ice.

Cocktail summary
Posted by Dan on 6/06/2010
Created by
Pendennis Club, Louisville, KY.
Year
1806
Is an
authentic recipe
Reference

Gary Regan, The Joy of Mixology. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_fashioned_cocktail

Curator
Not yet rated
Average
4.5 stars
(55 ratings)
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From other users
  • Too strong for my taste — ★★
  • I prefer a maraschino cherry, haven't noticed a difference between using a splash of club soda or regular water — ★★★★★
  • Rittenhouse 100 Rye BIB Also, suggest a barspoon of Luxardo Maraschino liqueur on occasion. — ★★★★★
  • I prefer it lighter with 2oz. bourbon or rye — ★★★★★
  • 2oz. Whiskey (Bourbon or Rye), 0.25 oz. Simple, a few dashes of Angostura, Orange Twist for garnish (Lemon if using Rye). Also good with Licor 43 in place of simple. Try other sweeteners. — ★★★★
  • Rye 3 Angestora 2 Peyschauds 2 Orange bitters
  • 2 oz, 1/4 oz, 2 dashes
  • Wide Orange peel garnish for this one. — ★★★★★
  • Wouldn't a bourbon-based Old Fashioned get orange zest and a rya-based Old Fashioned get lemon zest?
  • Along the Bourbon Trail Garnish with slice of orange and a cherry -OR- with a twist of orange peel and a cherry. — ★★★★★
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Comments

It's that time again - we now have 36 variations of the Old Fashioned, and I'm going to thin them out (by hiding them) based on how many people have the drink in their cocktail book - I feel it's better than either deleting them or merging them into this drink and making a note. Just as a heads up, I'm also going to do this to the Negroni and the Martini - any new variations of these three drinks will need to come from a great bar or be so compelling it deserves to be seen by everyone.  Thanks, Zachary

J.S-g. commented on 2/18/2017:

Made an altered version using 2 oz rye and a 1/2 oz of orange oleo saccharum and two dashes of Angostura. Made me think of the orange-forward on-tap Old Fashioned at the Union Kitchen (Copenhagen) I had a few years ago. Really nice and simple.