An old fashioned Old Fashioned

I'm a Manhattan fan myself (with rye please). I've taken a few stabs at making old fashioneds - usually I go by Chris McMillian's of New Orleans Best Cocktails method on any of the classics and they'll turn out excellent. But I dunno, his old fashioned leaves something to be desired. I've had a few from good bartenders, but they've either been too sweet or too bittered up and christmassy. So can't say that I haven't tried, but I never really saw the beauty of this particular cocktail.

However - I happened to catch an AMC Mad Men re-run of "My Old Kentucky Home" on a Sunday morning not long ago. Not one of the better episodes, but Don Draper does an impressive job of mixing an old fashioned for Conrad Hilton.

The first snowfall of the year called for a stiff amber colored cocktail, so I decided to give Don's method a try. I made one with Maker's Mark, and the other with Sazerac rye. One sugar cube muddled with 5 drops of Angostora bitters and a few drops of water in an old fashioned glass. Then 3oz of whiskey and 2oz of club soda gently stirred over ice in a shaker, then added to the old fashioned glass. Pretty damn tasty, now I get it - well played Don Draper! Don is correct, it's definitely better with bourbon. PS, don't forget the flag (orange & cherry) garnish - key. Nice way to sit in front of the fire.

Instead of a sugar cube, you can use simple syrup or mmmmm maple syrup.
ultrafine sugar is also nice on the bar because it dissolves faster and you can adjust the sweetness-
another option instead of using club soda is to use 7up- there's your sugar!

Old Fashioneds are my very favorite cocktail and that's a great scene from Mad Men, which is one of my favorite all-time shows.

I love the version that changed my cocktail-drinking life; the one from Brad Bolt at Bar DeVille. He uses Bulleit Bourbon, 2:1 demerara syrup (this sweetens the drink without diluting it much at all), freslhy-expressed orange and lemon oil, and dashes of Angostura and orange bitters. There's no fruit in this cocktail, which is my strong preference.

Paul McGee at Whistler makes another exemplary version. His base spirit is Van Winkle 13-year rye, which makes for a dynamic Old Fashioned.

I've re-created both of these at home (more times than I can count ) with very good results.

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ronnie_suburban wrote:
Paul McGee at Whistler makes another exemplary version. His base spirit is Van Winkle 13-year rye, which makes for a dynamic Old Fashioned.


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And how. After living in WI and attending parties w "old fashions" on tap I was convinced I hated them. I had the Whistler version this summer and became a convert.

So any other pro-club soda folks? I'll have to give it a try.

teatpuller wrote:So any other pro-club soda folks? I'll have to give it a try.

NEVER!

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teatpuller wrote:So any other pro-club soda folks? I'll have to give it a try.

I think the splash of club soda is what pushed it over the edge toward palatability for me. The Chris McMillian versions I've made were too boozy. Not that I mind a boozy cocktail like a Manhattan or martini, but an uncut old fashioned was too unbalanced for my taste. I used one mega ice cube to keep it from getting overly diluted. I'd start with just a very small amount and add it to taste, just like adding water to a neat whiskey.

Fast Eddie wrote:

teatpuller wrote:So any other pro-club soda folks? I'll have to give it a try.

I think the splash of club soda is what pushed it over the edge toward palatability for me. The Chris McMillian versions I've made were too boozy. Not that I mind a boozy cocktail like a Manhattan or martini, but an uncut old fashioned was too unbalanced for my taste. I used one mega ice cube to keep it from getting overly diluted. I'd start with just a very small amount and add it to taste, just like adding water to a neat whiskey.

Might as well throw some chocolate chips in there, too.

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I'm with Ronnie, I really don't like when the "splash" goes in the glass. I generally view it as a cost-cutter for most bars.

First, I don't mean to come off as a cocktail snob. I only kid because I care. It's none of my concern if someone puts ketchup on their hot dog and I'm totally fine with folks getting their drinks the they way want them but . . . when classic recipes start morphing, it makes it that much tougher to get a classic cocktail as it was intended. It's already hard enough to get a quality cocktail in this town without people playing fast and loose with the classics. For a city our size -- one that is so highly-regarded for its culinary chops -- the number of places where quality drinks can be had is pawltry.

I've been served 'Old Fashioneds' that had Sprite in them. In what world is this a proper OF? Seriously, while some may find this concoction wonderful, it is most certainly not an Old Fashioned, nor should it ever be called one. Last spring, I was at a very highly-regarded bar in town and ordered a mint julep, which the bartender made with lime juice. Wait, what?! Are you f*cking kidding me? It was an abomination. Perhaps the bartender was extremely inexperienced but this is such a basic, iconic drink that if you don't know how to make it right, you shouldn't be behind a bar. Period. I'm all for improvisation and creativity but one must first master the basics before their tinkering, dabbling or what have you means much.

Rogue variations become so common that standards get lost and when standards erode, chaos ensues. Does a Margherita pizza have sausage on it? Is som tum made with cucumbers? Are ribs boneless? NO!

I hope my message is clear: for the good of society, cocktail decorum must be maintained!!

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An old fashioned is spirit, sugar, water and bitters. Period. End of sentence. The reason we have to bother with the phrase old fashioned is because folks couldn't leave the word cocktail alone. They had to make it mean other things than spirit, sugar, water and bitters. So, now we call what was once simply a cocktail an old fashioned. Make whatever drink you want, with whatever fruit or liqueurs or soda, but please don't call it an old fashioned.

The question of plain soda water is particularly tough. Soda water is water, yes, but I think it wets a slippery slope...perhaps not because it's an alteration of the recipe so much as because it's a short cut. A squirt of syphon can replace a more laborious stir for a bartender in the weeds, but it's akin to using a hatchet where a scalpel is called for. If that's the attitude they're taking toward my drink, my next order will be a beer. Usually one orders an old fashioned to elevate and experience nuances of the base spirit that can't be appreciated neat. If you're drinking Old Crow, dilute away, but something like VWFRR deserves more care and attention. An old fashioned is the original cocktail, it should be sacrosanct. If an exception is made for soda, soon enough there will be a call to accept grenadine in place of sugar or a dash or two of liqueur, what can it hurt? Well, it hurts the lexicon. It muddies the water and makes it that much harder to get a simple combination of spirit, sugar, water and bitters. That's why we have to call it an old fashioned, because a previous generation ceded cocktail.

kl1191 wrote:A squirt of syphon can replace a more laborious stir for a bartender in the weeds, but it's akin to using a hatchet where a scalpel is called for.

Thing is, the "splash" is not there to carry the sugar as the water is in your recipe. Rather, the splash is used, as I see it, to give the impression of a fuller drink.

up north some of the old timers drink blackberry brandy old fashioneds. god, that has to be horrible.

I'd drink it though!

Vital Information wrote:

kl1191 wrote:A squirt of syphon can replace a more laborious stir for a bartender in the weeds, but it's akin to using a hatchet where a scalpel is called for.

Thing is, the "splash" is not there to carry the sugar as the water is in your recipe. Rather, the splash is used, as I see it, to give the impression of a fuller drink.

I'd suggest there are many reasons it might be employed, but I hope we can agree that the drink is better for none of them.

Mr. Draper would like to see you in the office. Shut the door, have a seat.

Fast Eddie wrote:Mr. Draper would like to see you in the office. Shut the door, have a seat.

LMAO!

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Ronnie,

Funny thing, I was in Bar High Five in Tokyo recently and asked for a "dealers choice" cocktail using bourbon.

I will look for my pictures but I was served a mint julep where not only was the base spirit Jim beam White Label but there was also fresh lime juice used.

Since my company was paying for the $20 mistake I laughed it off but was suprised by such an overisght.

Regards,

Bourbon

Bourbon wrote:Ronnie,

Funny thing, I was in Bar High Five in Tokyo recently and asked for a "dealers choice" cocktail using bourbon.

I will look for my pictures but I was served a mint julep where not only was the base spirit Jim beam White Label but there was also fresh lime juice used.

Since my company was paying for the $20 mistake I laughed it off but was suprised by such an overisght.

Regards,

Bourbon

Damn. Though, it seems the farther from Kentucky the error is made, the less surprising it is.

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ronnie_suburban wrote:There's no fruit in this cocktail, which is my strong preference.

I'm exactly the opposite. I love the fruit, and I prefer old-fashioneds in which the orange is muddled with the sugar.

I can go either way on a splash of soda water in lieu of flat water, in moderation, but club soda (which has salt in it) and Sprite are abominations.

jvalentino wrote:And how. After living in WI and attending parties w "old fashions" on tap I was convinced I hated them.

Well, the Wisconsin drink is a completely different thing -- it's made with brandy, for one thing, and in most places cheap brandy at that. The usual version is the "brandy old-fashioned sweet," the "sweet" being Sprite or 7-Up, and it's often pretty vile. That said, I recently sampled one that made it up to "not bad."

I have not tried to order an old-fashioned made with bourbon in Wisconsin. I've been afraid that they would make it just like the brandy version.

The best Old Fashioned I have had in Chicago = Barrelhouse Flats.

A couple I had last weekend in Wisconsin. Both made with brandy. The first was ok, too much carbonation. The second was awesome, no carbonation, just packed with alcohol.

Kall Inn Supper Club(Hazel Green, WI.):





Country Heights Supper CLub(Hazel Green, WI.) and Motor Inn:





I kind of like a little fruit garnish in an old fashioned, I prefer a bourbon Old Fashioned, but when in Rome(Wisconsin) I go with the brandy.

Re: Barrelhouse Flat-a friend also just commented on this demo there. It appears that some field research is in order.

jvalentino wrote:Re: Barrelhouse Flat-a friend also just commented on this demo there. It appears that some field research is in order.

I have one every time I go there and they've been variable. I've had a great one, 2 good ones and one that was way too sweet. Indeed, more research is required.

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Since I was so severely chastised for using club soda, I've been playing with this recipe the last few weeks. I've settled on the following:

- in the bottom of the glass sugar to taste, 3 drops each Regan's orange bitters and Angostora bitters, muddle with a little water until the sugar dissolves
- add ice to fill glass
- load it up with bourbon and stir vigorously
- garnish with fruit (I ran out of orange and used the orange bitters instead, nice)

I've done the above with and without a splash of club soda, doesn't really make a huge difference either way so I've deferred to the purists and left it out (forgive me DD). You have to really dose it heavily with club soda to get it carbonated. Nice thing is you can make it all in one glass without having to break out the shaker and strainer and measuring apparatus. Easy prep, easy clean up, and very easy going down.

Cheers!

Fast Eddie wrote:Since I was so severely chastised for using club soda, I've been playing with this recipe the last few weeks. I've settled on the following:

- in the bottom of the glass sugar to taste, 3 drops each Regan's orange bitters and Angostora bitters, muddle with a little water until the sugar dissolves
- add ice to fill glass
- load it up with bourbon and stir vigorously
- garnish with fruit (I ran out of orange and used the orange bitters instead, nice)

I've done the above with and without a splash of club soda, doesn't really make a huge difference either way so I've deferred to the purists and left it out (forgive me DD). You have to really dose it heavily with club soda to get it carbonated. Nice thing is you can make it all in one glass without having to break out the shaker and strainer and measuring apparatus. Easy prep, easy clean up, and very easy going down.

Cheers!

I think the key to this cocktail is a vigorous, prolonged stir. As with most every worthy cocktail, it's largely about touch and finesse, aka technique. Most better bartenders will do the stir in one glass then strain it into another glass, over a large ice form.

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I was always a fan of the Bar DeVille no-club-soda variation that Ronnie mentioned upthread and Fast Eddie saw the beauty of per his most recent post. It became such a standby in our house that it just about became ingrained in my muscle memory...my mind could drift off, review to-do lists, etc., while my hands would whip up our usual nightcap.

Cut to a year or so later - our kids had just come home from the hospital, we were down to a few hours of sleep per night, stress levels were through the roof, and the crying - always the crying. Needless to say, we needed a drink. It was late November, chilly, perfect Old Fashioned weather. So I went down to Binny's, but when I got there, I realized I couldn't remember...anything, other than the fact that bourbon (or was it rye? Was there herbsaint? No, that doesn't sound right) was probably somehow involved. My brain was so fried that I couldn't remember how to put together this simplest of cocktails. I could hardly remember driving to Binny's...all I knew was I was there, and I had no freakin' clue what I was doing. So from the whiskey aisle, I sent a desperate email to Ronnie that basically said "HELP!!!" and, God bless him, he sent me a nearly-immediate and very sympathetic response.

In addition to the basic Brad Bolt recipe, he included a little tidbit about how he made a batch with maple syrup with great success (I saw upthread that irisarbor mentioned this as well) that completely shifted our paradigm when it comes to bourbon-based cocktails...since then, maple syrup Old Fashioneds with no fruit, no club soda, and ample stirring and freshly-squeezed orange & lemon oils have become our go-to recipe, and maple syrup is strongly considered for anything involving bourbon that requires sweetening.

My family would drink Old Fashioneds all the time. I recall my great aunts requesting them around the holidays. They seemed like pure liquor to me and quite vile but I do see the appeal now. I wonder where the name came from. Can anyone tell me why they use brandy for so many drinks in Wisconsin? I have heard this for years in my family and wondered if it is an urban myth but I see that it must be true. What accounts for it?

I don't know where the name comes from, but according to The Joy of Mixology, it's been called an Old Fashioned nearly from the beginning, in the latter part of the 19th century.

So the story as I understand it goes something like this. There was a cocktail, it was Spirit of any kind, sugar, bitters and water. You were a crotchety old man and you walked into a bar an said “I want a brandy/rye/bourbon/genever cocktail please.” And you would receive spirit, sugar, bitters and water for your trouble.

Then because bartenders just can’t leave well enough alone, they now made an Improved Cocktail, with a liqueur Maraschino or Curacao mostly. Then some hi-falutin’ barkeep, with an unironic handlebar mustache and arm garters came up with the Fancy Cocktail which had some absinthe in it.

So now you walked into a bar and ordered a cocktail and they handed to a 16 page cocktail menu with charming pictures and stories about the plantation where the vanilla for the Madagascar cocktail was farmed. You are grumpy because ordering a drink shouldn’t be this gosh darn hard and you call the vest-wearing mixologists over and say you just want the “OLD FASHIONED” cocktail. Harrumph.

Cheers,
Toby

Nice. Glad you are back, Toby. It's been a while, I think.

Oh that's a good one Toby. Thanks.