an Old Fashioned — whiskey, bitters, a muddled orange and a cherry in a tumbler

Last summer we were on a Vodka and Gin kick — how can you go wrong with a refreshing Greyhound or Bee’s Knees?  We kicked this summer off with new favorites, however — all things whiskey or scotch.  It all began when..

A few winters ago, on a particularly frosty New York night, one of Z’s oldest friends (and his wife who incidentally shares a name and profession with A) popped in for a visit.  We made them trek out to Brooklyn for dinner and then take a not-so-short walk to a bar for some (pretty excellent) music.  Perhaps in an effort to thaw, this old friend introduced Z to his drink of choice — Jameson, neat.

Fast forward to a great Bushmills birthday present from the CQ and CK, a delicious tasting with Z’s family in Portland, a trip to The Brandy Library (thanks to a recommendation from another great friend), a set of new tumblers, and then there we were, in San Francisco at an amazing 30th birthday party, debating what to order at the bar.  We were thinking: something with whiskey maybe?

A new friend, who we’ll call Life of The Party (LTP) because dancing the night away with a tie around your head can earn you that name, came to our rescue and introduced us to the drink below.  We had never heard of it.  He says it’s his staple — now it’s ours too.

Old Fashioned

(Makes 1 drink)

2 oz Whiskey

3-4 dashes of Orange Bitters

3/4 tsp Sugar

1/2 inch wide Orange Slice

Maraschino Cherry

1) Muddle the cherry, orange slice, sugar, and bitters in a glass.

2) Remove the orange rind

3) Fill a short glass with ice (it only takes us a couple cubes)

4) Add whisky and enjoy!

We’ve decided that the only thing better than meeting super cool people is meeting super cool people who can turn us on to delicious drinks. LTP had the immediate gratification of the pleased looks on our faces at first sip, but we’ll just have to hope you like it as much as we did!

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