The Old Fashioned - Back in Fashion

If you have ever been interested in the beginning and evolution of one of BGC’s most ordered cocktails, we are here to help!

The Old Fashioned is one of the first recorded cocktail recipes written. It dates back to the 1800’s, and although it did not have its current name, the recipe is the same.

So, what are the nuts and bolts of this classic clinker?

You will always need a spirit, the booze, the hard stuff. Traditionally, the choices are whiskey or bourbon, but recently mezcal and tequila have given it a new spin.

The classic recipe calls for sugar cubes as the sweetener of choice, but new renditions include simple syrup, agave or even maple syrup.

Bitters are needed to balance out the sweetness. Angostura or orange bitters are the most common, but the BGC Bulletproof Old Fashioned has dashes of Cherry vanilla bark bitters that give it a whole new flavor profile.

The garnish refreshes and seals the deal. The cherry on top (pun intended) can include an orange twist/peel and a maraschino or more expensively, a Luxardo cherry.

All these elements combined and stirred – never shaken – in a “rocks” glass with ice will make you a delicious Old Fashioned.

Well, why is it called “Old Fashioned”?

At its purest form, this sipper was spirit, bitters, sugar and water. When bartenders started to get creative in the 1870’s with more complex cocktail recipes, the bar guests that missed the simpler beverages began asking for their drink the “old fashioned” way.

This recipe and name withstood the test of time and the test of prohibition! During those dark ages, bartenders started muddling the oranges and cherries in to hide the taste of low-quality liquor. You can still find places that muddle their fruit into the tin, but the orange peel rim-around and toothpick cherry is (in our humble opinion) the classier way to go.

Fortunately for us, this legendary libation will be around for another 200 years.