Southport Magazine

I always get nostalgic around New Year’s time, so I thought I’d profile a classic cocktail that has made a bit of a resurgence of late: the Old Fashioned.

The Old Fashioned is at its most basic simply sugar, bitters and whiskey over ice in a low, heavy-bottomed glass. The whiskey is traditionally either bourbon or rye and the sugar can take the form of a cube with water poured over it or simple syrup. 

But part of the fun of cocktails is that they are never really just simply anything. Even with as uncomplicated a recipe as the Old Fashioned, history has seen a few varieties pop up. But let’s go back to the beginning.

For my history lesson, I’m referencing an article by Robert Simpson, author of Old Fashioned: The Story of the World’s first Classic Cocktail on the Difford’s Guide website. Difford’s is a great source for any sort of libation-related information, if you’re curious. 

If the title of Mr. Simpson’s book didn’t give it away, let me start out by saying the Old Fashioned is one of the oldest cocktails, if not the oldest cocktail. It began life as the Whiskey Cocktail (come on, it would be silly if it STARTED as “old fashioned”) and was very popular in America and Britain from the early 1800s. 

The Whiskey Cocktail began as a morning pick-me-up drink prepared “up,” or without ice. Wasn’t that a more civilized time? Anyhow, by mid-century the cocktail had become popular with the hipsters of the time and bartenders began to get creative with it. They added absinthe, curaçao and other liquors prompting the more old-school drinkers to rebel and demand an “old fashioned whiskey cocktail”, one without all these additions. 

Then, as is so often the case with American alcoholic beverage stories, Prohibition threw a wrench in the works. Bartenders, unable to procure decent liquor, hid the taste of the rot gut by adding fruits like orange peel and cherries. When the nation returned to its senses and good whiskey was once again available, the cherrie and orange peel remained a part of the American version of the Old Fashioned, but in England the idea of turning a perfectly good whiskey drink into “fruit cocktail’ is frowned upon. 

There is also debate about the use of simple syrup versus pouring water over an ice cube in the bottom of one’s glass, but that’s just silly in my opinion. Sure, if you have time pouring water to melt your sugar cube is fun, but when you’ve had a long day and just want a nice cocktail, it’s time wasted. So do as you like and as your situation warrants, I say. 

So how do I, one who has read all about the history and nuance of the Old Fashioned for your benefit, make my own Old Fashioned? Well, I’ll tell you. 

First off, I enjoy the orange and cherry version. This is a bit out of character for me as I’m usually a less is more kind of guy, but in this case I make an exception. The orange peel just gives this drink a bit of an aroma that makes me happy. And I’ve been a huge fan of maraschino cherries since earliest childhood, so any excuse to eat one is welcome. 

My friend taught me a trick that I think makes life easier and the cocktail better. I make simple syrup, half and half water and sugar, and while it’s cooking up, I add a few strips of orange peel. This infuses the syrup with orange and is just wonderful. The syrup keeps, so you don’t need to make it each time. 

You have to use an Old Fashioned glass for an Old Fashioned. Don’t be a savage. Put in a bit less than a tablespoon of the orange-infused syrup and fill the glass with ice cubes. Add a couple drops of bitters and fill with bourbon. Then stir. Stir a bunch. The ice should be melting some which brings out the flavors and makes this cocktail really shine. Add your maraschino cherry and twist of orange peel and stir a bit more. Enjoy. 

One final note. For this “research” I used Turning Point bourbon, distilled and bottled in King’s Mountain, North Carolina and available at the Oak Island ABC store. Our local ABC stores have begun carrying a pretty nice a variety of North Carolina spirits, which I think is really cool. Look for a future Cheers column exploring all this local goodness!