Fruit or no fruit? That is the question (or one of them, anyway). Like Martinis, Old-Fashioneds are one of those drinks that’ve been around long enough to have developed more than a few variations.
A satisfying blend of whiskey (preferably straight rye or bourbon, though some recipes use Canadian Whisky or a blended scotch), bitters, and sugar, stirred together with ice (and sometimes topped up with club soda), the Old-Fashioned makes a great wintertime drink. Richly flavorful, but not overly strong, it works equally well during cocktail hour, or as an after-dinner sipper.
But let’s get back to the fruit: While older, pre-Prohibition recipes call for the simple addition of a twist of lemon peel to the mix described above, more recent versions often fancy things up with a slice of orange and a maraschino cherry instead. And while it’s often been remarked that these late additions were just add-ons to disguise the taste of bad contraband liquor during Prohibition, I personally think they can contribute a lot to the flavor of the drink.
So, if you have some good really fruit on hand - as I did this weekend - why not take advantage? Slice up some fresh, juicy oranges (I used blood oranges), and drop in a quality preserved cherry (I used homemade maraschinos preserved from the summer - with no day-glow red dye, they’re a little pale looking in the photo, but believe me, their flavor’s amazing), and you’re in business.
Whiskey Old-Fashioned (Fruit-Style)
makes one drink
2 ounces whiskey (rye or bourbon – I used Old Overholt Straight Rye Whiskey)
1 sugar cube (or a teaspoon or so of granulated sugar)
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Orange wedge (I used blood orange)
Maraschino cherry (I used homemade)
1 teaspoon water (for muddling)
A splash of club soda (I omitted this step)
Place the sugar cube in the bottom of an Old-Fashioned glass. Add the bitters and water directly to the sugar so that they are absorbed. Muddle together with the back of a spoon (some recipes call for the fruit to be muddled at this point, but I prefer to add it later, whole). Add the whiskey and one or two large ice cubes. Stir gently. Garnish with the cherry and orange - and be sure to savor both when your drink is done.
Related: The Celluloid Pantry: Sazeracs and Live and Let Die (1973)
(Images: Nora Maynard)
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For those readers in Chicago: South Water Kitchen has an Old Fashioned sampler on the menu right now:
Southern Comfort with tangerine; Jack Daniels with blood oranges; and Jim Beam with clementines.
Pretty good stuff. They make theirs with infused whiskeys: the oranges are macerated in the bottles.
If you add club soda to an Old Fashioned, you no longer have a cocktail but instead a highball. Cocktails don't use mixers like water, tonic, soda, fruit juice, and the like.
I love this, so much fun to put in the sugar cube and the bitters. It looks so pretty. It tastes so good.
This brings back memories of always being given the maraschino cherry from my mother's Old Fashioned, starting when I was about five years old. What can I say---it was a different era. Still love the Old Fashioned today and I'm glad to see it discussed here, as it has a bit of a Senior Citizen aura in some quarters.
My Grandma Ruth's drink. I'll have to pick up a blood orange on the way home.
My grandparents (b. circa 1900) used to serve an old-fashioned at Christmas, in the 70s. What set it apart was the orange slices; they came from a jar, perhaps Holland House brand? (I know it was two words.) I've not been able to find them for perhaps 20 years, but recall the peels being practically candied, but the sections of the fruit still quite distinct. I've taken to candying orange peel myself in an attempt to deliver the flavor; in making the OF, we muddle a piece of the candied peel with the sugar and bitters, using inherited glass muddlers. A prettier piece of peel is used for garnish, along with a maraschino cherry. (I've been known to use the syrup from the jar of orange peels instead of sugar, toward the end of the jar.)