Old Fashioned Cocktail Recipe
The original cocktail: whiskey, sugar and bitters stirred over ice. A timeless study in simplicity.
- Category: The Unforgettables
- Glass: Old fashioned glass
- ABV: 32%
- Difficulty: Easy
- Prep time: ~3 min
Ingredients
- Bourbon or rye whiskey45 ml (1.5 oz)
- Sugar cube1 piece
- Angostura bitters2 dash
- Cold water1 splash
How to Make It
- Place the sugar cube in a rocks glass and soak with bitters and a splash of water.
- Muddle until dissolved.
- Add whiskey and a large ice cube.
- Stir gently to chill and dilute.
- Express orange zest over the top and drop it in.
Garnish
Orange zest
What it tastes like
The spirit is right out front and it hits hard.
The technique
Stirring. All-spirit drinks are stirred — shaking whips air into them and ruins both the clarity and the texture. Thirty to forty seconds in a mixing glass, the spoon tracing the wall. You are after the same ~20% dilution, just slower and under control.
Glass and ice
A heavy-bottomed, wide old fashioned glass. Wide enough for one large cube, which is the point: a big cube has less surface area, so the drink gets cold without getting watery.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Angostura bitters
- The salt of the cocktail world. Measured in dashes, not millilitres: a few of them cut the sweetness and add spice. One bottle lasts years.
- Cold water
- Seeing it in a recipe is not a mistake: in spirit-forward drinks, measuring the dilution instead of leaving it to the ice is what makes the result repeatable.
The Story
Dating to the early 1800s, it was the drink that defined what a 'cocktail' meant. Popularized at the Pendennis Club in Louisville.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Old Fashioned mixed?
- It is stirred and served in an old fashioned glass.
- How strong is a Old Fashioned?
- Roughly 32% ABV as served — a spirit-strength drink — sipped slowly, and it wants a glass of water beside it.
- Can a Old Fashioned be made without alcohol?
- Simply leaving the spirit out does not work — the body and the bitterness go with it. The 86 alcohol-free recipes in the catalogue are built to hit that balance from the start.
- Is a Old Fashioned hard to make?
- Easy. No bar kit required — a measure, ice and a jar will do.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.