Even if you don’t know how to make any other cocktails, you should know how to make an old fashioned. This is especially true if you’re a fan of whiskey. This simple, elegant, classic cocktail is made with whiskey, a sugar cube (or simple syrup), a few dashes of water, and Angostura bitters (although you can easily adapt the drink with your favorite bitters).
Like many iconic cocktails, there are a few stories surrounding the creation of the old fashioned. The most popular origin story takes us back to 1880. This was supposedly when bartender and bourbon pioneer James E. Pepper created the drink at Louisville’s Pendennis Club.
While you can make an old fashioned variation with bourbon, brandy, or even añejo tequila, many drinkers prefer it with spicy, peppery rye whiskey. For those new to whiskey (or those who haven’t branched out beyond bourbon), rye whiskey must be made with a minimum of 51 percent rye (although it usually contains a much larger percentage).
While bourbon, with its corn, caramel, oak, and vanilla notes, gives an old fashioned a sweeter base, rye whiskey adds an extra kick of pepper, spice, and sometimes herbal flavors to your favorite cocktail. It especially blends well into a classic rye old fashioned.
