Old Fashioned

Long Winded Instructions

This is one of our favorites. You might say it started all of this. The blog I mean... not the world around us. I’m sure it had some influence, but I don’t want to give it too much credit.

The Old Fashioned is about subtle flavors. It’s basically whiskey with some sweetness and citrus. And it’s quite good.

Start with choosing a good whiskey or bourbon. The key for us is to pick something good, but not too good. The syrup is going to help mellow things out, so you don’t need a super high-end whiskey to make an excellent Old Fashioned.

Add your standard simple syrup. You can try a little more or less than the official recipe according to your own taste. How much sweet are you looking for? Sorry, I meant to say, "for which you are looking."

Now, a couple dashes of aromatic bitters and orange bitters. There are a lot of different bitters these days that you could try instead or in addition to. But, the citrus ones are the ones that will sing in this mixture.

Make sure you have adequate ice in there and stir real good.

But, we’re not done yet! More subtle citrus to come. Take an orange peel, fold in order to express the rind, then run it around the rim of your glass. Do the same with a lemon peel. Then, put both peels into the drink.

Any other garnish? Sure! You can plop a maraschino cherry in there if you like. That’s how I learned to make it, although I understand now this is not a standard garnish. That’s ok. It’s a nice addition. And while you’re at it, you should get the good maraschino cherries. Don’t buy the ones that look radioactive. Get the boring looking ones because they’re actually the better ones. Pro tip.

And now you’re done. If you’re not already a fan of whiskey or bourbon, don’t be surprised if you become one. It happened to me. This drink is a gateway that will prepare your palette for a wider range of taste pleasures yet to come. So, I’ll leave you to savor your new concoction. You old fashioned kid, you.