Well, it’s Friday. We made it through another week. Let’s have a drink to celebrate. As suggested a couple weeks ago, I decided to focus this week’s drinking project on a single drink, that has multiple versions. I figured since I started this project with an old fashioned, I should use that for inspiration this week. So, let’s mix up a regular, rye, brandy, and Irish old fashioned!

Bourbon old fashioned (Control):

1 Orange slice

1 Brandied cherry

1 Sugar cube

2 Dashes Angostura Bitters

1 Dash Orange Bitters

2^1/2 oz bourbon or rye

Add orange slice and brandied cherry to an old fashioned glass. Add sugar cube and bitters, then muddle to dissolve the sugar. Add whiskey and stir., making sure the sugar is dissolved. Add a large ice cube and stir briefly to integrate. Garnish with the orange slice and cherry.

I used the old fashioned from the Waldorf Astoria cocktail book, which was the recipe from the first post. This is the classic. It is boozy and delicious. Just what you want in an old fashioned. The bourbon adds a different kind of sweet to this, even with an entire sugar cube and maraschino cherry involved. Not overpowering, just there.

Rye old fashioned

2 oz Rye

2 dashed angostura bitters

2 dashes orange bitters

1 Maraschino cherry

1 sugar cube

2 orange wedge muddled

Oh this is delicious. The spiciness of the rye really comes in at the end. I might have to start asking for rye instead of bourbon going forward, it’s that good. According to Frank Caifia from the Waldorf Cocktail book, rye would be the historically correct choice.Another note, I would recommend a quality cherry. Get Luxardo if possible. Regular maraschinos are OK in a pinch, but Luxardos are way better better.

Brandy Old Fashioned

A brandy old fashioned is a version of an old fashioned that comes from Wisconsin apparently. The proportions are still the same, with brandy added instead of whiskey:

1 sugar cube or 1 tsp/5 ml simple syrup
2 dashes Angostura bitters
1 orange wedge
1 cherry
2 oz brandy or Cognac

In a chilled old fashioned glass, muddle the sugar, bitters, orange wedge and cherry into a thick paste, careful not to overwork the orange peel.
Add brandy or Cognac and stir.
Fill glass with crushed ice and serve.

OK no crushed ice. Sue me. Anyway, this is a nice, if subtle deviation from the classics above. The booze intensity is a bit muted since brandy tends to be less harsh than whiskey is. However it is still very flavorful. I’d make this in a pinch if I wanted one and had no whiskey around.

Remember how I said it was invented in Wisconsin? Apparently they like to sweeten this up (but why?) by topping the glass with 7up or Sprite. I passed on that since I feel that adding any kind of carbonation to an old fashioned is a crime, and should not be tolerated.

Irish Old Fashioned

I’m sure you can guess where this is going. This is an old fashioned made with Jameson.

1 1/2 oz Jameson Irish whiskey
1 sugar cube
2 dashes angostura bitters
Splash club soda
Orange slice
Maraschino cherry

In a rocks glass, muddle together the sugar cube, angostura bitters and splash of club soda until sugar is dissolved. Add desired ice (see note) and fill with whiskey. Garnish with orange slice and cherry.

Again, no club soda, because that is oh so wrong. I also probably added 2 1/2 oz. of Jameson because I like stronger drinks, and I’m not saving a tiny bit of whiskey in a nip, so in it goes!

This is a change of pace from the brandy old fashioned for sure. Where the brandy had a more mellow flavor, the Jameson adds a sharper note. Not that there is anything wrong with that. Its…different but in a good way. There is a distinctive finish that the Jameson brings that none of the others do, which makes it stand out more than the other three iterations of this classic cocktail.

All 4 of the versions I made this week were tasty and delicious. If I had to pick a favorite…I think I would go with the rye old fashioned. I like the little extra depth the rye gives over the bourbon. However, all four are now on the table for options, depending on what I’m looking for in a drink.

(Banner image found here)