The old-fashioned is a classic cocktail that likes to change its clothes. At its core, it’s a lightly sweetened whiskey-based lowball. Those who prefer a drier drink with a hint of spice will opt for rye, while others may prefer the sweet roundness of bourbon. Some bartenders drop in a slice of orange or a cherry right before serving, and others will muddle the fruit into the drink; sometimes it’s served with no fruit at all. These myriad variations beg the question: Is there such a thing as a ‘right’ way to make an old-fashioned?
The drink has a long history, and it didn’t always bear the archetypical title. “The name on its birth certificate was Whiskey Cocktail,” Robert Simonson writes in his book The Old Fashioned, citing the original technical outline of any cocktail: spirit, sugar, bitters, and water. It’s hard to pin down exactly when and where the name “old-fashioned” originated, but sometime in the mid-19th century in the U.S. seems likely, as traditionalists snubbed newer takes on cocktails, requesting the “old-fashioned,” or pared-down versions of beverages instead of concoctions featuring newly available added ingredients.
