If there is one cocktail that may be considered to be the true cocktail, the one I would consider that to be is the Old Fashioned. The cocktail from the beginning was bitters, sugar water and spirit. A whiskey cocktail used whiskey, a gin cocktail used gin etc. Later on, the recipe was tweaked, including some liqueur like maraschino and sometimes also absinthe. All the versions of this cocktail and the versions evolving in the mid 19^th century caused the original cocktail to be desired by some, which turned into customers in bars ordering cocktails made the old-fashioned way. This later turned in to a cocktail being called old fashioned appearing. The cocktail in its early form is quite similar to what I consider a real Old Fashioned cocktail. In the years after the end of the prohibition in the US, the Old Fashioned was changed, as the whiskey in the US was bad during the prohibition and in the first years after the prohibition an orange slice and a cherry was commonly muddled into the cocktail turning the Old Fashioned into a fruit salad. In the state of Wisconsin in the US a version of the fruit salad version of the cocktail appeared with brandy and has been considered to be a typical cocktail of Wisconsin. In recent years the trend has been that a good Old Fashioned should be made similar way that the original version was.

There are a few ways that a bartender can ruin the Old Fashioned for me. The first is, like the cocktail was done in the years after the prohibition ended, muddling of orange slices and cherries. The second is the use of sprite or excessive use of club soda. That will dilute and sweeten the cocktail too much for my taste. The third way to ruin the cocktail for me is the use of an unpleasant spirit, which is key here as this cocktail really is all about the spirit. A nice whiskey really makes a nice cocktail, or an unpleasant whiskey can barely be saved by the cocktail.

For me this is a nicely balanced cocktail that one, at least if you are interested in cocktails, should be familiar with. The sugar sweetens the spirit making it smoother, the bitters makes the cocktail a bit spicier, and the waster dilutes the cocktail to lower the ABV of the cocktail. The cocktail itself is as important as the Negroni, the Manhattan and the Sour, having all these four cocktails at hand you could, by making simple changes of spirits, sweeteners and other ingredients make hundreds of cocktails. In the end it is a tasty cocktail to have after a nice dinner while winding down and I would highly recommend it.

My Recipe:

• 2 oz (6 cl) Rye Whiskey
• 1 barspoon Rich Simple Syrup
• 3-4 dashes Angostura Bitters

Add the ingredients to a mixing glass with ice and stir until chilled. Strain into a chilled double Old Fashioned glass with ice. Garnish with a lemon twist.