Liquor: Old Fashioned

I'm a little bit of an old-fashioned girl. There's something I really like about getting dressed up in a classy dress and heels, slicking on some red lipstick and going out for a drink with a devilishly handsome man in a suit. Vodka and gin are my usual go-tos, I'll admit--but there's something a bit...cliched (?) about sipping a martini in that scenario.

Whiskey, to the rescue!

I've never been a whiskey drinker, not since a rather *interesting* experience with Jack Daniels when I was 16. (Dad, just don't think about it. Trust me.) Since then I have discovered a propensity to date guys who drink whiskey, and lots of it--Jameson, Wild Turkey, Jack's Tennessee Honey, you name it--so I've been around it plenty. I just never wanted anything to do with it. Sorry, Ron Swanson.

This drink--the way *I* make it--is a game changer.

If you would like to know how to make a TRADITIONAL Old Fashioned, go to this website.

I said I was old fashioned, not traditional. "But fruit doesn't belong in a man's drink." Seriously, skive off with that chauvinistic bullfeathers. There's no such thing as a man's drink or a girlie drink, there are drinks and there are drinks and if you're gonna sit there with your nose in the air judging me for putting fruit in my whiskey--well--then you are more in need of this drink than I am, friend!

Here's how I make it. Play with it until you find a way that YOU like it.

 

Jacked Up, Fruity, Deliciously Addictive Old Fashioned

makes 1, but you'll want more

What You Need

1 large shot of whiskey of your choice (I'm a fan of Maker's Mark but I don't know Jack [hah] about whiskey, so use what you like. A blended whiskey like Jameson wouldn't make much sense here, but I can't WAIT to try this with Tennessee Honey.)

2-3 dashes Angosturra Bitters (no compromises here, though I prefer more like 5 dashes)

A couple of orange slices (I used a mandarin in the photo above because that's what I had, and of course, it was delicious.)

A few maraschino cherries, as few or as little as you like (Don't get that artificially dyed iridescent red garbage; do you even know how those are made? Go to the Cocktail/Mixers section of your grocery store and get the real kind.) 

1 teaspoon simple syrup; or a cube of sugar if you don't have any simple syrup and don't want to make your own. (Liquor stores sell bottled simple syrup if you're incredibly lazy like me. Just make sure you don't wind up with a flavoured one by accident.)

Club soda, to top off if you like. Like I said, I can't do straight whiskey no matter HOW much fruit I put in it, so I like this. (I literally just realized that I used tonic water last time. Oh well.)

What You Do

I just happen to already have Old Fashioned glasses, so--in the bottle of an old fashioned glass, muddle up the orange slices and the cherries with the bitters and simple syrup, using the end of a wooden spoon or whatever small blunt object you have around. You don't need to go all Hulk on it, just mash it up a bit o release some of the fruit juices. Add the whiskey and taste it. If you're like me it's goddamn delicious, but a little too strong, so add some club soda and some ice, if you like. Bada bing, bada boom, we're done here.