Bartending 101 - The Old Fashioned

There’s a lot of magic in this little classic. Probably one of the first drinks I learned to make, and probably one of the ones that take longest to perfect. In essence, it’s an incredibly simple drink- whiskey, bitters, sugar, job done. That’s the essence of it. If you want to go with the absolute standard recipe, and there’s no judgment here for that, you can totally do that. I’ll show you some variants later.

Sticking With The Classic

50ml whiskey of choice (I’m a big fan of a good bourbon or Irish, but a super heavy pleated version with Lagavulin is rather lovely too.)

5-10ml sugar syrup, or 1 tsp of soft brown or Demerara sugar

2-3 dashes Angostura bitters

-in either a chilled mixing glass (the preferred option), or a large whiskey glass, buck your brown sugar and bitters in and mix with a bar spoon (if you’re absolutely stuck, a chopstick will do in a pinch) to make a brown sludgy paste. You can add a small tsp of water to widen it and make mixing easier, it does bring out the best in the drink.

Add your whiskey, then fill whichever glass you’re working with to the brim with ice. Stir for 20-30 seconds, ensuring good movement and mixing thoroughly, then if necessary, strain into a clean whiskey glass with fresh ice. Cut a healthy slice of orange skin off, flame or squeeze the zest above the glass, and float on top of the ice.

Notes

A good old fashioned should be short, sweet, strong and punchy. It shouldn’t fill the glass too much, that generally shows it’s been overmixed, too dilute, and comes out a bit watery. It’s all about practice, you’ll find the version and technique that works for you, then before you know it you’ll be mixing four separate Old Fashioneds at once while coordinating other orders, chatting with regulars and singing along to the background music. (That last one’s maybe just me.)

Honestly, you cannot go wrong with the recipe, but it’s all in the mix and how you prepare and present it.

I’ll add Techniques for mixing, serving and garnishing to a post soon.

Good mixing!

Neil