As I have been reading Robert Simonson’s book “The Old-Fashioned: The Story of the World’s First Cocktail with Recipes and Lore” (ISBN 978-1-60774-535-8), I had to try the Old-Fashioned, the original ‘cocktail’, for myself to see if I would actually like it. I was skeptical, because I had trouble enjoying the classic Manhattan, which on my initial attempt was not quite to my taste (yet anyway).

When mixing an Old-Fashioned, I followed the basic recipe without the fruit. Authentic Old-Fashioneds are to be made with either Kentucky Bourbon or rye Whiskeys. My first attempt was using Elijah Craig 12 Years Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, as recommended by Robert Simonson in his book. I’ll try the rye version at a later date. I must say that I was really pleasantly surprised by the cocktail. It really has something. I also found that the traces of orange coming from the orange peel really went well with the taste of the Bourbon whiskey, to such an extent that I mixed a second Old-Fashioned replacing the Angostura Bitters with Angostura Orange Bitters. However, this did not have the effect I was looking for – the original was much better. So I will have to investigate the addition of orange to Bourbon more thoroughly at some later date. I think that there is a cocktail in there somewhere.

Add the sugar lump into an Old-Fashioned glass, dash the Angostura Bitters over the sugar lump, add a barspoon of warm water and muddle the ingredients until the sugar has dissolved. Pour the whiskey into the glass and stir. The add ice, preferably a single large ice cube, and stir to cool. Add a zest of orange or lemon, depending on the type of whiskey used, as garnish. Enjoy.