I am an old-fashioned snob. I first learned to make the old-fashioned from visiting a whisky bar in LA called Seven Grand. It is Seventh and Grand street in LA and has an amazing (probably the largest I have seen, collection of whiskies, bourbons and even Japanese whiskies. http://sevengrandbars.com/la/
The origin of my recipe was Seven Grand - but after many amazing old fashioned cocktails at several bars across the globe, my thoughts about making the best old fashioned evolved and now I think I have it perfected. The bar that had the best old-fashioned (other than my own of course) is the Connaught Bar in London, that's where I learned a large block of ice is key to making sure you don't get a watered down version halfway through your drink.
The old fashioned is a relatively simple drink to make, and yet bar after bar, as far away as Beijing and Bangalore, I found most bartenders simply did not know how to make a good old fashioned. So I decided to take matters into my own hands and went on a quest to figure out how to make the best old-fashioned in the world.
I quickly realized that getting large clear blocks or balls of ice was next to impossible, you can't just buy them, making them is also not easy. Many online searches later all I found was a few Youtube videos showing how to make clear ice and it was not easy at all. I found some ice molds, and tried several, many broke quickly as they could not handle the fact that ice expands. None of them made the completely clear ice that I was determined to make for my old fashioned. The Youtube videos involved using an ice chest (Coleman) and making a large block of ice which you then had to cut to make the clear ice cubes with a saw -- not being a very handy person, I decided that was not for me as I was convinced I would lose a few fingers in the process.
I finally found a mold by a company called WinterSmiths -- and bought the square molds, lo and behold, I made my first set of absolutely clear blocks of ice! Thus began my journey into making the perfect old-fashioned. Several uses later the mold broke and leaked all over our freezer. I then bought second one -- this time for ice balls which came out even better and this time I read the instructions carefully and realized that you are supposed to remove the ice around 36-48 hours after putting it in the freezer or risk the mold breaking. I now have week after week of perfect ice balls. If you are impatient and take it out too soon e.g. in 24 hours, you will get half balls of ice -- cute but not quite what you want.
The other thing I discovered is that an old-fashioned can be made using bourbon, rye or whisky. After experimenting with each, I have now settled mostly on a rye based old-fashioned. Most of the bourbons are too sweet and when you add the sugar to it, quickly becomes a sugar bomb. Some bourbons are less sweet so they make excellent old-fashioned too. Here are some favorites: Angels Envy, WhistlePig, Four Roses. I love Bulleit and Michters Rye (they also make bourbons). I have concluded that Michters Rye makes the best old-fashioned but if you like it sweeter, definitely go for the bourbons. While technically a whisky will work too, you are not doing the whisky a favor but killing its amazing flavors and in my view a great whisky is best had all by itself or with a small cube of ice.
My pet peeves after several bad old-fashioneds at many bars are -- using the basic bright red cocktail cherries -- they add an awful taste to the drink and whats worse is some bartenders muddle them into the drink making the whole drink an awful mess. I have even had once who muddle the orange peel with some bits of orange in it -- people -- what are you making, that would be a mojito or some tropical drink where you would do that. I also hate small ice cubes which melt immediately and make the drink a watery mess. Also simple sugar while a shortcut also dilutes the drink, so don't do any of this if you want a fab old-fashioned.
Okay now on to making the old-fashioned:
Ingredients
Angostura bitters
1 cube of sugar
1 fresh orange
A clear block or ball of ice
Bourbon or Rye
Luxardo (and ONLY Luxardo) Maraschino cherries
Bamboo knot cocktail pick
In a low ball/old-fashioned glass, drop in the sugar cube. Splash a few dashes of the Anostura bitters. Add a splash of club soda or seltzer water. Now using a bar muddler (my favorite is the OXO with a hard spiked rubber end) to muddle the sugar and bitters to bring out all the flavors of the bitters. Now add 1.5 oz of the bourbon or rye, mix it well. Now add the ice block/ball and using a spoon, gently swirl the block of ice so that it melts slightly and dissolves the sugar and bitters and adds a bit of volume to the drink.
You will notice some bartenders do this part in a mixing glass with smaller ice cubes -- thats fine but don't over do it, otherwise you will have a very watery drink and also now have one more thing to clean.
Now slice a peel of orange, hold it over the glass and squeeze it with the skin facing down into the glass so it sprays some of the oils from the skin onto the ice and drink, now slide it down the side of the glass.
Next spear 2 maraschino cherries on cocktail pick, balance it on the rim of the glass and serve. Now you can enjoy the drink. You will appreciate that the large block or ball of ice, melts very slowly, keeping your drink cool but not watering it down.
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