The old-fashioned: a complete history and guide to this classic cocktail
Troy Patterson:
A four-page discussion begins by connecting the old-fashioned with the first recorded definition of the cocktail in general—”a stimulating liquor, composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water and bitters”—which dates to 1806. “As the cocktail evolved, this earliest of cocktails became known simply as the Old-Fashioned,” the text explains. Before old-fashioned became popularly synonymous with a particular drink made with American whiskey, it described a general style. In keeping, the book later presents the rum old-fashioned and the tequila old-fashioned and more. There’s a “Bad-Humored Old-Fashioned” for fans of Dutch gin, a “Oaxaca Old-Fashioned” for mezcal enthusiasts, and a scotch old-fashioned for aficionados of fucking up perfectly good scotch.
