Old Fashioned Cocktail Recipe

Old Fashioned cocktail is a classic whisky drink, renowned all around the world. The spirit-forward drink is generally made using bourbon or rye whisky and garnished with an orange peel or cherry, in an attempt to elevate rather than obscure the spirit’s flavour. The cocktail remains a benchmark for classic drinks, providing nuanced and sophisticated sips.

The History of the Old Fashioned cocktail

The Old Fashioned is one of the original, simpler cocktails that emerged in the 1800s, long before advanced cocktail techniques. Its perfect balance of flavours, however, ensures it can claim a spot against modern-day drinks even today. The rumour has it that the drink was originally just called a whisky cocktail because there were few other drinks to confuse it with. It’s only when newer whisky cocktails started coming on bar menus that patrons began requesting the original by asking bartenders to serve them the “old-fashioned”. 

One of six basic drinks listed in David A. Embury's The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks, it was also the top-selling classic cocktail internationally in 2020. It achieved that status for the 6th straight year, based on an annual global poll of 100 bars by a drinks journal. The drink was also named the official cocktail of Louisville in 2015. Since then, Louisville celebrates "Old Fashioned Fortnight" annually in June - two weeks of special cocktails and bourbon drinks, coinciding with the National Bourbon Day on June 14. 

How The Old-Fashioned Recipe Changed

The original recipe wasn’t limited to a single cocktail. Rather, a group of “old-fashioned cocktails” existed, which involved mixing the spirit (usually whisky, brandy, or gin) with water, sugar, and bitters. There was no ice involved, and the garnish included grated nutmeg. A whisky version would thus be called “Old Fashioned Whisky Cocktail”. 

It was in the 1930s, after the repeal of Prohibition, that whisky cemented its spot as the spirit for an Old Fashioned. The drink, thus, transformed first from the 1800s version to the one prevalent during the Prohibition and Post-Prohibition era. The early 2000s cocktail renaissance and the modern cocktail scene of the 2020s further tweaked the recipe. However, they were minor changes, usually focused on the garnish, use of ice, and form of sugar. Broadly, the recipe has remained consistent over the years. 

Here’s a quick summary of the changes:

- The spirit is fixed to be just whisky, and not gin or brandy. 

- A single block of ice is added to the drink. It controls the dilution and maintains the flavour.

- Sugar cubes are replaced by sugar syrup in many recipes and bars since the latter is easier to dissolve. 

- The garnish goes from grated nutmeg to lemon or orange peel.