The Old Fashioned

[DVDTracker]

So what's your take on how Old Fashioned should be made? The classic containing just a little sugar, bitters and bourbon... or muddled with an orange, and orange and a cherry, etc?

[boboakalfb]

I like mine muddled with an orange. Tasty cocktail!

[castlecraver]

Ah... a topic close to my heart.

I don't like the sugar cube thing -- I find that sometimes it doesn't dissolve completely, making the drink a bit inconsistent as the undissolved sugar settles, not to mention grainy. Instead, I just substitute a splash of bar syrup and move on. Sometimes a tsp of the maraschino syrup from the cherry jar is enough sweetness to do without the sugar altogether.

There's hardly any variety of whiskey that isn't good in an old-fashioned, although I certainly wouldn't mix with something expensive. Even the cheaper Canadian Whiskeys taste pretty good as an old-fashioned, I'll admit. Makers, Jack, 101, Crown, 7, whichever Rye I have handy, etc all seem to work well.

I'm one of the guys that does go with a small splash of soda too. Wars have been fought over this point, and unless you make your bar syrup as concentrated as possible I find I risk making an overdilute drink.

And a full two shakes (at least) of bitters. :smile:

[Confuzius]

I use about half a tsp of sugar, wet it with the bitters, add a tablespoon or so of water and muddle it up then add the whiskey. I use Canadian Club generally, not bourbon. More often than not no garnish.

[Jac]

Syrup (with raw sugar) for me as well, and 2-3 healthy dashes of bitters. I usually just twist a good thick piece of orange peel (or lemon, if I haven't got any good oranges in the house) over it; whether the peel gets dropped in the glass or discarded depends entirely on my mood, how much energy I have to cut a pretty garnish-worthy twist, and/or the alignment of the planets.

And no soda or radioluminescent cherries for me, thanks. :001_smile

[Gruder]

I use about half a tsp of sugar, wet it with the bitters, add a tablespoon or so of water and muddle it up then add the whiskey. I use Canadian Club generally, not bourbon. More often than not no garnish.

I use this method (except for the Canadian part, which would rightly get me excommunicated by my brethren from the Commonwealth). I tend to use Weller.

[ratcheer]

I prefer the traditional. A very small amount of fruit is ok, but I don't want a fruit cocktail. I do like a lot of bitters, though (say, 6-8 dashes).

Tim

[Obsessed]

I made one for myself tonight. What a good drink - thanks for the tip, guys.

[DVDTracker]

I made one for myself tonight. What a good drink - thanks for the tip, guys.

But which way? :crazy:

[Obsessed]

But which way? :crazy:

The method suggested by Confuzius and Gruder, because it fit with the ingredients I had. No garnish. I used Jack Daniel's.

[calcustom]

http://www.epicurious.com/video/5295887001 :thumbup1: