With the weather getting colder and crisper, fall is the perfect time to celebrate America’s native spirit and clink with all the fabulous drinks concocted from this smooth, oak-y pour. One bourbon cocktail in particular, the old fashioned, is perfect for toasting the season.
Like the martini, this drink is rich in history, has undergone multiple makeovers and even has its very own glass. Formerly called the whiskey cocktail, the original bourbon or rye old fashioned was as close to the definition of the word cocktail as you could get: a drink composed simply of a spirit, sugar, water and bitters. But these days you’d hardly recognize it. If you walk into a bar today and order an old fashioned, you’ll likely get a fruit cocktail, sometimes with seltzer or 7UP, usually with bottom shelf whiskey and more often than not, a drink you wouldn’t order twice. Any bourbon lover can attest this is so wrong.