Well, it's time to work in another cocktail episode. The old-fashioned lives up to it's namesake for being arguably the "original cocktail". It also happens to be one of the Colonel's favorite cocktails.
The History of the old-fashioned: By the 1860s, as illustrated by Jerry Thomas' 1862 book, basic cocktail recipes included Curaçao, or other liqueurs, not mentioned in the early 19th century descriptions, nor the Chicago Daily Tribune descriptions of the "Old Fashioned" cocktails of the early 1880s; it is absent from Kappeler's Old Fashioned recipes, as well. The differences of the Old Fashioned cocktail recipes from the cocktail recipes of the late 19th Century are mainly preparation method, the use of sugar and water in lieu of simple or gomme syrup, and the absence of additional liqueurs. These Old Fashioned cocktail recipes are literally for cocktails done the old-fashioned way.
The most popular of the in-vogue "old-fashioned" cocktails were made with whiskey, according to a Chicago barman, quoted in The Chicago Daily Tribune in 1882, with rye being more popular than Bourbon. The recipe he describes is a similar combination of spirits, bitters, water and sugar of seventy-six years earlier.
Traditionally, the first use of the name "Old Fashioned" for a Bourbon whiskey cocktail was said to have been, anachronistically, at the Pendennis Club, a gentleman's club founded in 1881 in Louisville, Kentucky. The recipe was said to have been invented by a bartender at that club in honor of Colonel James E. Pepper, a prominent bourbon distiller, who brought it to the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel bar in New York City.
A book by David Embury published in 1948 provides a slight variation, specifying 12 parts American whiskey, 1 part simple syrup, 1-3 dashes Angostura bitters, a twist of lemon peel over the top, and serve garnished with the lemon peel. Two additional recipes from the 1900s vary in the precise ingredients, but omit the cherry which was introduced after 1930 as well as the soda water which the occasional recipe calls for. Orange bitters were a popular ingredient in the late 19th century. While some recipes began making sparse use of the orange zest for flavor, the practice of muddling orange and other fruit gained prevalence as late as the 1990s.
I like my cocktails to be intense in flavor, not deluded, or overly sweet. For this reason, I stick closer to the original 1895 recipe. I don't add any sugar, water, or muddled fruit. I also use a high proof bourbon; Preferably between 90 and 100 proof. If I'm entertaining guests, I'll throw in a splash of water and a teaspoon of sugar. However, the recipe that I list will focus on the old fashion that I make for myself.
-2 ounces of high proof bourbon (preferably between 90 and 100 proof)
- 2 shakes of Angostura bitters
- 4 drops of orange bitters
- whiskey rock (large single ice cube/sphere)
- zest of lemon
- splash of Royal Harvest Bordeaux Marciano cherry juice
- 1 Royal Harvest Bordeaux Marciano cherry for garnish
1. Select your favorite rocks glass.
2. Place one whiskey cube in bottom of glass.
3. Add two shakes of Angostura bitters.
4. Add four drops of orange bitters.
5. Add approximately 1 tablespoon of Royal Harvest Bordeaux cherry juice.
6. Wipe the rim of the glass with the zest of one lemon.
7. Squeeze the remaining oil from lemon into glass and place the zest in the glass.
8. Add 2 ounces or more of bourbon.
9. Mix.
10. Garnish with one Royal Harvest Bordeaux Marciano cherry.
11. Allow 3 to 5 minutes for chilling, and the flavors to mingle.
12. Enjoy!
Old Fashioned Cocktail from Graham Sparkman on Vimeo.
