Old Fashioned, four ways

Spirit, sugar, bitters, ice and a piece of peel. The old fashioned is the test of a spirit, because there is nothing else in the glass. Here is the base recipe and how we adjust it for four of ours.

Ingredients

• 60 mL spirit (see the four versions below)
• 1 sugar cube, or 7.5 mL rich sugar syrup (2:1)
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• A strip of orange peel

Method

1. If using a sugar cube, soak it with the bitters and a few drops of water in a rocks glass and muddle until dissolved. With syrup, just add syrup and bitters.
2. Add the spirit and a large block of ice. Stir for 20 to 30 seconds until cold and slightly diluted.
3. Express the orange peel over the drink, rub it around the rim and drop it in.

Four versions

• Stormy Skies: the base recipe as written. Dark fruit and oak from the staves, orange peel on top. The closest to a classic rum old fashioned.
• Spiced Cane Spirit: the spirit already carries citrus, lemon myrtle and spice, so use 5 mL syrup and 2 dashes of orange bitters instead of Angostura. Orange peel.
• Precedent: a grain spirit with soft cereal sweetness and pepper; the base recipe with Angostura works as it does for a bourbon. Orange peel, or lemon for a brighter drink.
• Jumpinpin IPA Whisky: the whisky is 47% with peach, vanilla and hops. Use 5 mL syrup, 1 dash Angostura and 1 dash orange bitters, and finish with grapefruit peel rather than orange.

Where it comes from

In 1806 a New York paper defined a cocktail as spirits, sugar, water and bitters. By the 1880s bartenders were adding liqueurs and absinthe, and drinkers who wanted the plain version started asking for a cocktail made “the old-fashioned way”. The Pendennis Club in Louisville likes to claim it, but the drink is older than the club. It is simply the original cocktail with a name that says so.

Because nothing hides the spirit, the sugar and bitters need to suit it. The four versions above are how we make them at the distillery.