The Old Fashioned is the top-selling cocktail in the world so it is probably
about time that you learned how to make one. I'm going to teach you the best
technique to use so that you can give any seasoned bartender a run for their money
I'm also going to give you some inside information
on the best products to use and if that's not enough check out the
link below where I've taken a look at the extremely long history of the Old Fashioned.
Now let's get making.
Now the basic formula for this drink can be
applied to any spirit a recipe for a Gin Old Fashion that actually predates
any whiskey ones and none of the early at recipes specify whether to use rye or
bourbon. If you want to know more about the difference between rye and bourbon
then check out the video in the link below or watch until the end of the
episode and we'll link through. To start we'll prepare our lemon twist
Now I've said it before but I'll say it again always make sure you have your garnish ready
you don't want to put all that effort into making the perfect drink just to
have it sit and dilute on ice while you're faffing about with the lemon twist.
One of my best friends is a very
opinionated Canadian and to vehemently maintains that lemon goes better with a
rye old fashioned because it's a bit drier and fresher whereas a sweeter and
more fragrant orange twist is perfect for a bourbon old fashioned. I do tend to
agree with her and not just because she scares me a little bit, so I have gone
for lemon on this one, but orange would also be delicious.
In the true spirit of this no-frills cocktail I like to keep the twists pretty rustic so I just take
a nice big thick piece of the lemon rind off and then as always go back and trim
off all of the white pith. We'll start with the supporting stars of this
cocktail that is the bitters. Bitters started off as medicinal so using herbs
and bark and roots to soothe sore tummies but they're now mostly used by
bartenders for their magical flavor enhancing and lengthening properties.
Purists tend to stick to just Angostura in an old-fashioned or maybe some orange
bitters if they're feeling a bit risqué, but I've decided to make use of the
massive wealth of crazy bitters flavors that we now have available to us thanks
to the cocktail boom one of my favorites is Dr. Adam Elmegirabs Aphrodite Bitters,
as the name suggests these are packed full of
aphrodisiacs. Things like cocoa, ginger, coffee and chili. Now I can't promise
that this is gonna get you lucky but I can promise that it works amazingly well
with the space from the rye whiskey in this cocktail. So two dashes of Angostura
bitters and two dashes of Adam Elmegirabs Aphrodite Bitters. So you'll need
about 5 to 10 mils of sugar syrup depending on how sweet your taste is
the easiest way to mess up an old fashioned is to add too much sugar to begin with
so I usually start with 5 mils and then give it a little taste and then you can
add some more if you need to now you may have seen some bartenders put a sugar
cube in the glass - it was bitters and muddle it you can absolutely do it this
way I just find that using liquid sugar set up if you have a little bit more
control over it and you also don't end up with any rogue undissolved sugar
crystals in your glass, so it's a smoother texture. I've used regular white
castor sugar in a sugar syrup which is one to one, that is one part sugar to one
part water. You can also use brown sugar or cane sugar for a little bit more
depth of flavour, but just again be careful that you don't end up
overpowering the whiskey. So the easiest way to measure 5 mils is to use your bar spoon.
So now the star of the show you need 60 mils of Rittenhouse Rye.
My pallet tends to the drier and spicier end of the spectrum, so I've decided to
go for a Rye. That being said Rittenhouse Rye is not particularly high
in rye content so you still have a nice fruitiness alongside the savory spice.
It's really considered a benchmark rye by bartenders and it's definitely my go to.
It is also 100 proof or 50% alcohol by volume so a bit stronger than
your usual whiskies, so it can take the dilution in this cocktail. So now you
want to fill your mixing glass with as much ice that's physically possible and
give it all a stir. Hold the glass at the base
and just push the ice around using your bar spoon.
When the mixing glass starts to feel cold against your fingers give it a little taste and see if it's
diluted enough.
For me this is delicious I like to have a little bit of bite still there but if
you reckon that you would like a little bit more sweetness at this point then
feel free to add a couple of drops more sugar syrup. Grab your chilled glass out
of the fridge or freezer and add in the biggest ice you can find.
Hold the ice back using your julep strainer and pour over the ice in your glass.
Hold the lemon twist with the rind facing out the way over the glass give it a sharp fold
so that the oils expel over the surface of your drink and it's a no frills
cocktail so just pop your twist in there. The Old-Fashioned. So now you know!
Don't forget to stay tuned for the history of the old fashioned and while you're there why
don't you hit subscribe so that you'll never miss an episode.