Fall is in the air and with it the craving for a drink that warms the blood. The South brought this world the preferred liquor of fall, Bourbon, and with it came what could be called the original cocktail – a mixture of Bourbon, sugar, water, and bitters. Traditionally, the first use of the name “Old Fashioned” for a Bourbon cocktail was said to have been, anachronistically, at the Pendennis Club, a gentlemen’s club founded in 1881 in Louisville, Kentucky. The recipe was said to have been invented by a bartender at that club in honor of Colonel James E. Pepper, a prominent bourbon distiller, who would bring it to the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel bar in New York City. Here’s how to mix an Old Fashioned:
Old Fashioned
1.5 oz. I.W. Harper Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Sugar Cube
Dash of Orange Bitters
2 Dashes Aromatic Bitters
Housemade Cherries
Garnish with Orange Twist
Directions:
Place sugar cube in old fashioned glass and saturate with bitters, add a dash of plain water. Muddle until dissolved. Fill the glass with ice cubes and add whiskey. Garnish with orange slice, and a cocktail cherry.