Ingredients
Preparation
2 minutes 2 minutes There’s a strikingly similar cocktail in Jerry Thomas’s 1862 How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant’s Companion, called the “Whiskey Cocktail.” What probably happened at Pendennis, says Robert Hess, founder of drinkboy.com and cofounder of the Museum of the American Cocktail, was that the bartender served a Whiskey Cocktail made the old-fashioned way—that is, the spirit combined with sugar, bitters, and water, the way cocktails were made as early as 1806. Editor’s note: The best Old Fashioned recipe for you is the one you love. It’s a stirred drink that’s generally made right in the glass you’ll drink from. Some prefer to skip the simple syrup and use muddled sugar (doused in the warmly-spiced Angostura bitters) in your whiskey glass instead. That allows the flavor to evolve as you sip your way down the drink, starting bracingly strong and winding up softer and sweeter. A careful muddle is needed to prevent grit. An orange peel (or lemon peel) garnish, expressed over the top of the drink and then dropped in, offers citrusy aroma and a touch of bitterness to balance the drink, while an orange slice moves things into juicier territory. Some love bourbon here, others prefer peppery rye—either way, it improves the drink to start with higher-proof spirits. (Here’s our guide to the best whiskey for cocktails and sipping.) Swap in gin for the whiskey in the Old Fashioned drink recipe below, and you’ll have an excellent Gin Old Fashioned. For more variations, see this guide to riffing on classic cocktails.
