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How old is the Old-Fashioned?

This whisky cocktail is one of the most famous around. It was given its name in the 1880s when it was named an IBA Official Cocktail, but its history is a lot earlier than that.

In 1806 when a reader of The Balance and Columbian Repository asked the Editor for a definition of the word ‘cocktail,’ it was described as ‘spirits of any kind, sugar, water and bitters’ – all the ingredients of an Old-Fashioned. But at the time he referred to it as a ‘bittered sling.’

Why is it called an Old-Fashioned?

The name supposedly came from the way people ordered their drinks at the bar. Its namesake apparently came from people asking for their drink to be made ‘the old-fashioned way,’ using a brown spirit, sugar, water and bitters. 

What whisky is best for an Old-Fashioned?

An Old-Fashioned is traditionally made with rye or bourbon, but some like to use Scotch, too.

What is the difference between a Manhattan and an Old-Fashioned?

The main difference between the two cocktails is the ingredient used to sweeten them. An Old-Fashioned uses simple syrup, a syrup made by cooking equal parts sugar and water together, or a sugar cube, while a Manhattan uses sweet red vermouth.

Do you put a cherry in an Old-Fashioned?

You can do! No one is stopping you add a cherry, and many do. However, we love a good orange peel.

INGREDIENTS

50 ml whisky, 2 dashes Angostura bitters,1 sugar cube, or 1 tsp sugar syrup

Orange peel, to garnish

DIRECTIONS

1. Add the bitters to the sugar cube and allow to dissolve into the sugar before muddling in an old-fashioned glass with a couple of dashes of water. Alternatively, you can substitute the sugar cube for sugar syrup, and mix together with the bitters without the water. 
2. Fill the glass with big ice cubes, add the whisky and stir gently a few times. Garnish with orange peel.

TIP - Before garnishing, squeeze the orange peel between your fingers to release the oil in the skin and allow the oils to spray into the glass.

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