Old Fashioned（オールド・ファッションド）
Whiskey, sugar, bitters, water — the original cocktail, still unsolved.
01Recipe
Recommended recipe
House spec — an editorial spec drawing on the sourced versions below.
| Ingredient | Measure |
|---|---|
| Bourbon or rye whiskey | 45 ml |
| Sugar cube | × 1 |
| Angostura bitters | 2 dashes |
| Water | 1 tsp |
Total volume (pre-dilution)
9 : 1
- 01
Place the sugar cube in a rocks glass; saturate with bitters and a splash of water.
- 02
Muddle until dissolved. Add a large ice cube.
- 03
Pour the whiskey over and stir briefly. Express orange peel over the drink.
Garnish — Orange twist · cocktail cherry (optional)
02Taste profile
- Sweetness
- 45Moderate
- Sourness*
- 0Faint
- Bitterness
- 40Moderate
- Fruitiness
- 20Light
- Herbal*
- 10Faint
- Alcohol
- 82Intense
- Crisp
- 45Moderate
Independent editorial scores, 0–100. *Estimated from the ingredient list — a profile sketch, not a verdict.
03History
The word 'cocktail' was defined in print in 1806: spirits, sugar, water, bitters. When bartenders of the 1860s–80s began adding liqueurs and absinthe, drinkers pushed back, asking for the 'old-fashioned' way.
The Pendennis Club in Louisville claims its invention in the 1880s for bourbon distiller James E. Pepper; historians treat the story as a plausible label rather than a birth certificate. The format was older than the name.
Mad Men-era nostalgia and the craft revival restored it to ubiquity. It is now the test: a bar that cannot make a balanced Old Fashioned cannot make anything.
Explore in the timeline
Origin contested — the entry keeps verified record and received legend distinct.
Sources — IBA Official Cocktails · Robert Simonson, The Old-Fashioned (2014)
04Recipe versions
Each version is shown exactly as recorded in its source — unverified claims are flagged.
- Jerry Thomas, Bar-Tender's Guide
Jerry Thomas, Bar-Tender's Guide
Jerry Thomas · 1862 · Book · unverified
- 1 lump of sugar
- 1–2 dashes Angostura bitters
- 1 wine-glass whiskey
- Lemon peel, ice
'Whiskey Cocktail' — dissolve sugar, build over ice.
The ancestral cocktail spec the Old-Fashioned name defends.
Pick 2 versions to compare — up to 3 on a wider screen
05Variations
- VariationOaxaca Old FashionedTequila + mezcal, agave nectar; the modern standard variation
- VariationBrandy Old FashionedWisconsin style — muddled fruit, topped with soda
- VariationRum Old FashionedAged rum, demerara syrup
06The map
Ingredients
Spirits
