The perfect Old Fashioned
 

I've been researching recipes for a great old fashioned for weeks now, trying this and that, adjusting here and there. Here's a contender.

Small wedge of orange
1 sugar cube
2 dashes Angostura bitters
splash of water
Muddle these together, make sure the sugar is dissolved
1 huge round ice cube
2 oz Blanton’s
2 Luxardo cherries (love them)

The orange clouds the drink which is a major downside. And still needs a little work to be perfect. Might work in orange bitters and no orange next. But it did taste great.

Oooh Blanton’s, that’s hard to find around here. Best old fashioned I’ve ever had was a smoked old fashioned at Lake of the Ozarks, they use a smoke infused ice and bring it out in a smoke box with I think hickory smoke. Just a hint of smokiness that gives it a little something different.

I like orange bitters. I would also suggest trying a rye.

The best old fashioned is actually a Rye Manhattan
2 parts rye ( I prefer Bulliet)
1 part Sweet vermouth ( I prefer Noilly Pratt)
1 luxardo cherry and one teaspoon juice
Shaken 50 times
Up in a Martini glass
Make it right and you will know that God loves you

Sounds good, but try an orange liquor, even Triple Sec. Nice and clear with an orange flavor.

Try a mix of fee and angostora. You can buy orange oil if you want. I actually like the real orange slice. Blantons is good, but overkill. I'm fine with Evan Bottled in Bond.

My favorite Old Fashioned recipe comes from an anecdote from presidential history.

When Bess and Harry Truman moved into the White House the staff explained that one of the perks of living in the White House was that the staff would serve them anything they wanted, all they had to ask. As they were waiting for supper their first night, the head butler asked if the First Couple would like a pre-dinner drink. They did, and Mrs. Truman ordered an Old Fashioned. The head butler considered himself a bit of a bartender, so he took the task upon himself and made Mrs. Truman an Old Fashioned from his private recipe.

The second night the butler took their drinks orders and asked how they found everything the night before. Mrs. Truman replied that everything had been perfect, but her Old Fashioned had been a tad too sweet. The butler was slightly offended, but he mixed the drink himself again, this time cutting the sugar in half.

The third night, the butler again took Mr. and Mrs. Truman’s pre-dinner drink order and asked how things were. Mrs. Truman replied that the second Old Fashioned was an improvement, but still a tad too sweet. The butler was a bit miffed, so to make a point, he went back to the kitchen and filled a highball glass with bourbon and served it to the First Lady.

The next day Mrs. Truman sent a note to the butler saying that the previous night’s drink was the best Old Fashioned she ever had.

So much better when a Scottish chick tells us the story.

https://youtu.be/kF1u1kOEQMk

https://youtu.be/kF1u1kOEQMk

Skip the orange, and its basically a Manhattan. I personally do not like Rye in my Manhattan's, to each their own. Blanton's is great, but good luck finding it. I use our local bourbon, Watershed.

https://www.watersheddistillery.com/

+1000

Time to branch out from the angastura, orange bitters are where it's at for old fashioneds... woodford reserve makes a nice one, and actually angastura themselves make a decent one as well. I also personally like mine with Michter's bourbon, but to each their own.

I've found Templeton to be a good Rye Whiskey. I'm currently hooked on Corsets, Whips and Whiskey lately. It's a hoot!

My mother used to say I made the best muddled old fashioned. I think a wedge of orange is to much. I used to use a slice of an orange. just like you would use as a garnish on the glass. An entire round roughly 1/8" thick. sugar bitters, cherry then a good muddling.

Using Rye is the key. My favorite for an old fashioned is High West Rendezvous Rye. Great whiskey...

Take a slice or orange peel and twist it over the glass just before serving, squeezing the orange oils onto the surface of the drink. don't muddle the orange, just add a thin slice for garnish.

old-fashioned:
A hand-job, particularly as an alternative to dome

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Old%20Fashioned

I've been laughing at this thread title since it popped up here and in PARF.

Well... ya learn something new here everyday... never heard that one before :)

My mind was in the gutter when I read the title too..............

That's a controversial drink right there.

Order one in Wisconsin then one in NYC...

I'm not into mushed fruit salad or brandy in my OF so that's how I roll - as nice a place as Wisconsin is they've got some issues.

Rye, or at least a rye-forward bourbon like Bulleit, balances the bitters and the sugar in my opinion. Something soft and wheaty like Makers Mark seems a little flabby. Overholt Bonded just showed up at our corner shop which is intriguing as the regular speed stuff is my favorite bottom-shelf secret sauce.

I learned it watching Impractical Jokers. One of the episodes Sal was calling out names for an office visit and Old Fashion Handy was one of them.

Rather than an orange slice, I think it's better to cut a strip of peel, rub it around the inside of the glass, twist and put it in the drink. This gets you the orange oil without clouding the drink or having juice that changes the flavor. Triple Sec or something similar would be nice, too.

My favorite variant of a standard Old Fashioned is a banana rum Old Fashioned, which I found here:
https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/banana-rum-old-fashioned


I had never heard of a Wisconsin-style brandy Old Fashioned until I went to the Hob Nob, an old-school supper club in Racine, WI, for the first time a few years ago.

It's hard to find everywhere! I stumbled upon a lone bottle at a chain liquor store in Chicago on Thanksgiving Day.

I've been using Angel's Envy for testing, it's a decent bourbon.

The smoked old fashioned sounds very good.