It's time to celebrate the classic Old Fashioned Cocktail.
Lucky for me because I happen to love an Old Fashioned, it's actually one of my first "signature" cocktails, having been introduced to it by a very great lady back in my early college days. It became a weekly ritual with us after I finished classes on Thursdays, one week at her house, next at mine. Mrs. Smothers, my neighbor, made hers the way they were expected in those days, with lots of Maraschino cherries and several orange slices muddled together before tossing in the ice and her brandy. Though many consider this a blasphemy in this age of bespoke cocktails, I ignore the critics and will still make an Old Fashioned this way occasionally (though I skip the toxic chemical loaded "Maraschino cherries" found on your local grocery shelf and use my own Homemade Maraschino or Bourbon Cherries instead.)
Below is my animated video recipe, complete with voiceover instructions and list of ingredients for the classic Old Fashioned:
This recipe is exactly what is defines a "cocktail" making the Old Fashioned one of the first drinks to be called a cocktail.
FUN VARIATIONSON THE
OLD FASHIONED
BOURBON OLD FASHIONED
BRANDY OLD FASHIONED
DOOMSDAY OLD FASHIONED
ELDER FASHIONED
HONEY OLD FASHIONED
PUMPKIN SPICED OLD FASHIONED
PRICKLY PEAR OLD FASHIONED
RHUBARB GINGER OLD FASHIONED
SPICED APPLE OLD FASHIONED
STRAWBERRY JAM OLD FASHIONED
SPICY MOLE RUM OLD FASHIONED
If you've never had an Old Fashioned, now is the time to try one. June 14th is Old Fashioned Day and Old Fashioned Week is celebrated somewhere between October 2st and the end of November, depending on who you ask.
Updated 6-2021
PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY
I was on a quest to add some more fernet drinks to my cocktail list and stumbled on a recipe for a Fernet Alexander. That recipe is not only in the Alexander family of drinks, it's similar in ingredients, ratios and taste to a Golden Cadillac. Where a Golden Cadillac is typically made with equals parts Galliano, crème de cacao and cream, the Fernet Alexander employs Fernet Branca, another herbal liqueur, in place of the Galliano.
Fernet is an Italian amaro and one of the more aggressively herbal liqueurs, definitely an acquired taste. Though typically served as a digestif, it can add some serious aromatic herbal essence to a cocktail if used judiciously. Usually made with the basic components of saffron, myrrh, rhubarb, chamomile, cardamom and aloe, the recipes vary from brand to brand and all are heavily guarded secrets. My personal favorite is Fernet Branca and over the last few years I have developed a fondness for it's bitter, minty licorice forward flavor, especially when mixed into the right cocktail.
Here I have replaced the white crème de cacao with dark crème de cacao, added a dash of orange and adjusted the ratios to create a fernet infused Golden Cadillac / Alexander which I've called a Fernet Cadillac.
The
FERNET CADILLAC
Cocktail
INGREDIENTS
3/4 Oz Fernet Branca
1-1/2 Oz Dark Crème de Cacao
1-1/4 Oz Half & Half
2 Dashes Angostura Orange Bitters
Dash of Sea Salt*
Garnish: Dusting of Dark Cocoa Powder, Orange Twist (express over top of cocktail)
Tools: Cocktail Shaker, Hawthorne Strainer
Glass: Coupe
DIRECTIONS
Chill the coupe in the freezer.
And the ingredients to an ice filled cocktail shaker and shake vigorously (to dissolve the salt) until well chilled.
Strain into cocktail glass, garnish and serve.
* Why the salt? Because it tames the very aggressive herbal nature of the Fernet a bit and it brings up the chocolate.
PLEASE DRINK RESPONSIBLY
