For those of us in the northern hemisphere, autumn is upon us and the quest for that perfect “it’s cold but not that cold outside” drink has the mind of every drink lover in a twist.
Okay, so the whole “in a twist” bit could be a tad of an exaggeration but I’m sure you know what I mean. Truth be told, there are plenty of drinks suited to this time of year, but one in particular beckons to me and never disappoints. As you’ve probably gathered by the title, the drink I’m referring to is the Old Fashioned.
This is one of the first true cocktails I was taught to make and is the very drink responsible for my current love of whisk(e)y and particularly the splendours of Bourbon. Like most other classic drinks, there is plenty of myth surrounding its origin and unfortunately, it’s becoming a great rarity to find a bartender who can do the drink justice.
One story surrounding the origin of this drink involves Rye, an over the top tax and goes a little like this:
In 1791 the Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton enforced a tax on distilled spirits, affecting both farmers and distillers. By 1794, the farmers and distillers had decided enough was enough and while many turned to violence, some fled south across that imaginary extension of the Mason-Dixon Line into Kentucky, taking with them their precious Rye and of course, the recipe for the drink we now call the Old Fashioned.
I for one do not buy into this story. For a start, ice only really entered bars in a big way post 1830’s and those of us familiar with the drink will know what a crucial role ice plays. Another factor is that there is no mention of the drink in Jerry Thomas’s 1862 publication of How to Mix Drinks (Bon Vivant’s Companion). This was the world’s first publication of a bartenders guide and was fairly comprehensive in it’s collection of drinks in circulation at the time. A very similar drink which is mentioned in the book and possibly the “father” of the Old Fashioned is the Whisky Cocktail and was recorded by Jerry Thomas as follows:
Whisky Cocktail
(Use small bar-glass.)
Take 3 or 4 dashes of gum syrup.
2 dashes of bitters (Boker’s).
1 wine-glass of whiskey.
Fill one-third full of fine ice; shake and strain in a fancy red wine-glass. Put in a piece of twisted lemon peel in the glass and serve.
Instead, I am more enticed to place my faith in a story involving a Kentucky Colonel, an exclusive club and of course, Bourbon.
It is said that the Old Fashioned was created in the 1880’s at the Pendennis Club in Louisville, Kentucky for Colonel James E. Pepper. The good Colonel was a well known Bourbon producer and like many others of the time, had followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. In 1879 the Colonel purchased a new distillery in Lexington and the resulting tipple carried the slogan “Born with the Republic” and the trademark “Old 1776”. There is some assumption that the first Old Fashioned was made with this Bourbon and was adjusted from the Whisky Cocktail mentioned in Thomas’s book. There is also a possible link between the title of the drink and the Bourbon thought to have been used. Old 1776….Old Fashioned. In Harry Jonson’s Bartenders’ Manual of 1900 there is also a possible link between the Old Fashioned and the Whisky Cocktail, where he records the Old Fashioned Whisky Cocktail.
Tom Bullock who spent time tending bar at the Pendennis Club published the following recipe in his 1917 book, The Ideal Bartender:
Old Fashion Cocktail
Use a Toddy glass
1 lump of Ice
2 dashes of Angostura Bitters
1 lump of Sugar and dissolve in Water
1½ jiggers of Bourbon Whisky
Twist piece of Lemon Skin over the drink and drop it in.Stir well and serve.
In April of last year (2008), I was lucky enough to visit the beautiful state of Kentucky. Arriving there, I can’t tell you how excited I was to sit at a local Louisville bar and enjoy one of my favourite drinks in the city it was created….what an anti climax!
I watched the barman in great anticipation and glee as he reached for his bitters and dashed them in my glass, added a shot of whisky and then, it all went a bit Pete Tong (wrong). He muddled a cherry and a slice of orange, filled the glass with ice and topped the whole thing with soda water. It wasn’t just that bar which destroyed this beautiful drink.
Somewhere along the line bartenders have taken the splash of Soda Water and converted it into a spllllaaaaaaaaassshhhh. It is said that the original drink was continuously stirred for anything up to six minutes…where was the stirring in Louisville?
A splash of Soda Water was originally added to the drink as a simple means to dissolve the sugar and was never intended as a “top up”. Now days, you can use sugar syrup and omit the Soda Water completely if you so choose. As far the slice of orange and the cherry are concerned, the earliest reference I’ve found to them being muddled in the drink is the early 1930’s and therefore a later addition to the drink.
Here is a fairly detailed description of how I like to make an Old Fashioned:
Glass: Old Fashioned / Whisky
Garnish: Strip of Orange Zest
Ingredients:1 Sugar Cube / 10ml Brown Sugar Syrup(Splash of Soda Water if Sugar Cube is used)
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
2 ounces / 60ml Bourbon Whisky
Method:
Place the sugar in the bottom of the glass (if you’ve elected to use a sugar cube add the splash of Soda Water and use the back of a bar spoon to dissolve some of the sugar), dash the bitters, two ice cubes and begin to stir. As soon as the ice begins to melt, add 1/3 oz (20ml) of Bourbon, add two more ice cubes and continue to stir. Watch for more dilution, add another 1/3 oz (20ml), more ice and once again continue to stir. Add the remaining Bourbon, a touch more ice, give it a final stir and finish by squeezing the oils from the orange zest over the drink and use the zest to give the drink one final stir. Leave zest in drink, sit back and enjoy.
As mentioned above, it is said that the Old Fashioned should take about six minutes to prepare. I say, that depends on the ice you have available. If the ice you use is not double frozen, it will inevitably melt faster and the drink will therefore be stirred for a shorter period of time.
In my opinion, a shorter stirring time is also when brown sugar syrup should be used instead of a cube. By the time you’ve dissolved a sugar cube with wet ice, the drink will be over diluted. Double frozen ice will dissolve a cube with the right amount of dilution, provided you have dissolved some of the sugar into the splash of soda water.
The drink in picture is one I made at home where unfortunately I do not have a proper ice machine coughing out quality cubes and although they were double frozen, the fact that they are not solid cubes once again means faster dilution and therefore resulted in the use of brown sugar syrup.
You’ll notice and orange zest is now used instead of a lemon zest. A change I agree with completely. The orange zest marries beautifully with the drink. For a perfect strip of zest, try using a potato peeler.
The decision of which Bourbon to use depends entirely on the type of character you wish to impart on the drink. For a very soft Old Fashioned, try a Bourbon with a good whack of wheat in its mash. For more spicy/peppery notes reach for one with a bit more Rye.
I’m not saying this is how you must make your Old Fashioned, but it is how I like to make mine…
Anyway, enough typing…I’m thirsty and will now leave you with the hope that you’ll enjoy this drink as much as I do.
Cheers!
