He embodied the classic aura of Old Fashioned drinkers: stylish, successful, male. Don Draper, ‘60s era marketing bad guy with killer style and ruthless charm, sipped Old Fashioneds made with rye, club soda, and cherry (we’ll allow it). There are two cultural touchpoints that show where we stand with Old Fashioneds these days. Fortunately, with few ingredients, it's also an easy cocktail to master. The sweetness makes it smoother than a lot of other whiskey-based drinks, though it remains a strong-jawed, spirit-forward option. Our guess is human beings will be drinking Old Fashioneds until end times, because the damned drink will never not be cool.Īll of which is to say, the Old Fashioned is a cocktail that's been around for a while, and for good reason. Since those sepia-toned days, the Old Fashioned has enjoyed illustrious comebacks as new generations of boozers have fallen for its simple charm. Yes, even the old-timers of the 1880s considered it to be an old-school drink. And 80 years later, the name “Old Fashioned” started getting tossed around in bars to describe said cocktail recipe. It was that particular (and rather unremarkable) recipe that appeared alongside the first-ever printed use of the word “cocktail” way back in 1806. This humble concoction of four ingredients-whiskey, sugar, bitters, and water-is quite literally the cocktail that started it all. You cannot get more classic than a classic Old Fashioned.

Old fashioned whiskey recipe