So I'm surfing along and through a little convoluted link-hopping I'm come across what is now of of my favorite new blogs, Urban Monarch. Specifically, the post about today's hot-or-not drinks.
Jager is finally out, unless you’re in high school.
Bourbon, especially small batch is in with a vengence.
The watered down Jack Daniels is washed right out.
Flasks are back in.
Old Fashioneds are in.
Kamikazes are out.
Rye whiskey is trying like hell to come back in, but for now it’s still out.
Jager out? Fine, yech. Bourbon in!? WOOT. Jack out, check. Flask, got mine (it's responsible for me having almost zero memory of my first theatrical viewing of Revenge of the Sith. Remember that Bryan?). Old Fashioneds... what the hell is that?
So, I researched WELL beyond what is reasonable, as I am wont to do when I come across something I don't know about. Thankfully one of my first stops was at the wonderfully and exhaustively informative recipe at Drinkboy.com.
| Old Fashioned * 1/2 orange slice Muddle orange, sugar, bitters together until the sugar is mostly dissolved. Fill glass with ice, then add the whiskey. Garnish with a marachino cherry, and perhaps an additional orange slice. Serve with a swizzle stick and/or straw |
(c. 1895)An old (1895 old enough?), traditional bourbon cocktail? Hmmm. The short article piqued my interest and then I read through a couple dozen of the 50+ collected variations on the Old Fashioned Drinkboy cites as historical evidence for their argument that just about every modern bartender's concept of the drink is fatally flawed. Apparently the modern popular variation amounts to a whiskey spritzer, just about equal parts liquor and soda, and by the accounts on those pages is pretty awful.
Simply sifting through the many historical recipes they uncovered convinced me: no soda. 50+ recipes allow for a lot of variation and customization, but the common thread is apparent in all the recipes.
The Old Fashioned is rocks bourbon whiskey, sweetened, with dashed bitters and a twist. Ende.
I am a great fan of simple and strong drinks that are founded upon the natural flavor of the liquor, rather than sickly sweet dramatically mixed concoctions that try to mask the alcohol as much as possible. If I want candy, I'll drink soda. When I drink liquor, I want liquor. The Old Fashioned is exactly that kind of simple, classic, and as unadulterated as possible drink. And it is awesome.
I had to round out my liquor accoutrements with some Angostura bitters, and I also got some orange bitters for fun (the orange is apparently hard to find, but I thank the gods again for my local independently owned Total Beverage which stocks anything and everything I could want). I mixed some straight, some with orange bitters, others with limes, and even had my first Scotch Old Fashioned tonight. As long as I stay true to the spirit of the Old Fashioned tradition, it seems there is no wrong way to do it. Every drink has been different and excellent. Especially loved that Red Label Old Fashioned. Thank the JW tasting for that.
[Edit 5/5/08: ok, the Scotch Old Fashioned is good, but side-by-side bourbon is the clear winner. Still, Scotch is worth trying out at least for the experience, and to put you in the know.]
Summer approaches and for the last month I have been rousing from hiatus my mint julep and mojito making skills, two of my favorite summer drinks. But there's a new kid on the block, and I have a feeling the Old Fashioned is going to be my mixed drink of choice for the year.
[More editing 5/29/08]
After much tinkering (though this simple recipe suffers little variation before becoming something else entirely), I have found my favorite recipe deviates slightly from the original. I haven't modernized too much, mind you. This recipe is a 1904, also from Drinkboy.
| Cocktail, Old Fashioned. (c. 1904) Use old-fashioned cocktail glass. |
The real difference is splitting the bitters between Angostura and orange. I mix my Old Fashioneds like this exclusively now.
3 comments:
Hi Daniel! It's me, Aunt Sheila. Your blog entertains me: computer info, alcohol, philosophy, horror movies. What more does one need?
See you in about a week!
After re-watching Revenge of the Sith on Spike, I would say it is perhaps better left forgotten. The Khan moment of the end, however, is priceless for its pure kitsch value. You need to find some good bourbon to go with that Old Fashioned. There is a BIG difference between scotch whiskey and bourbon whiskey. There is a lot of good small batch stuff in my neck of the woods, but I like Woodford Reserve for a good day-to-day bourbon that is easy to find. Its much better than Makers Mark for my tastes.
Yep, I'm down with the fine bourbon. You know I love Woodford. I still have fond memories of that bottle we killed when Luke, Koren, and I came to visit, while watching Feast and Dead Alive. That was an evening!
For a good moderately-priced bourbon, I really like Bulleit. It's and 8yo, nothing to sneeze at even for Scotch fans, and is great straight. When I want a great Old Fashioned I'll use Bulleit, but honestly even the Kentucky Derby's favorite Early Times is palatable in the cocktail (though not otherwise).
Next time I visit you in KY, we're going distillery touring!
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