Holy shit, that’s delicious!
I said out-loud to absolutely no one when I had the first sip of this Classic Old-Fashioned.
Here’s the skinny:
- 1 rough-cut brown sugar cube***
- 2 dashes aromatic bitters
- 2 ounces rye whiskey
- 1 thickly cut orange zest twist, using paring knife, not peeler
- hand-cut ice cubes***
Place sugar cube in old-fashioned glass. Wet the cube with the aromatic bitters. Singe the orange zest twist by holding it firmly behind a lit match and pinching it to release its natural citrus oils. be careful to spritz the citrus oils into the glass. Place the orange zest twist into the glass; using a muddler or the end of a wooden spoon, press it gently against the sugar cube. Then add the rye whiskey and stir gently. Add a couple large hand-cut ice cubes to the glass; stir gently again. Garnish with another orange zest twist, and seve. It’s restrained, potable elegance in a glass.
The recipe is from Whiskey Cocktails: Rediscovered Classics and Contemporary Craft Drinks Using the World’s Most Popular Spirit by Warren Bobrow. I won a copy from the Mad Men Virtual Dinner Party last month (it was one of the prizes for the Ted Chaugh/Joan Harris Bold & Creative Award, natch). It’s a pretty swell book and it definitely offers a lot of contemporary craft drinks in it; but I’m more of a purist when it comes to my cocktails, so I went with an old standby, albeit with a twist.
Literally. A twist. The, thick, lit-on-a-match twist is what made this drink! I was so shocked by how orangey (that’s a word now) the drink was since I didn’t muddle any actual slices of fruit in it. The orange bitters probably helped as well.
I stirred it with a beautiful WMF drink spoon, which was also a prize from the Mad Men party.
I love winning things, don’t you?
And now I am going to make another delicious Old-Fashioned.
Because I can. Don Draper would.
Hand….cut….ice….cubes??? W T F!?
Really great orange bitters come from a variety of sources. Fee Brothers, Gary Regan’s famous #6, Orange Sunshine from AZ Bitters Lab, Angostura makes a good one too.
You should make an Old Spanish next:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/23/old-spanish-drink-mad-men-30-rock_n_3138867.html
LOL. That’s fabulous!
My new motto “Man’s mind stretched to a new idea, never returns to its original dimension” – love it! Also love the sound of this cocktail. Gonna get me some orange bitters…
It was VERY yummy. And I have no idea about that glass except that it was my grandfather’s. I gotta do some research.