IBA
Old Fashioned – IBA
A dry and balanced whiskey cocktail ∙ Build ∙ 2 min ∙ 33.8% ABV ∙
The Old Fashioned is a whiskey cocktail built in the glass from bourbon, a sugar cube, and Angostura bitters, served over ice in its namesake glass.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Place Sugar cube 1 pc in old fashioned glass and saturate with Angostura aromatic bitters 3 dashes, add Chilled water 3 dashes
- Muddle until dissolved
- Fill the glass with ice cubes and add Bourbon 45 ml
- Stir gently
- Garnish with an orange slice or an orange twist and a maraschino cherry
Tips
- Muddle the sugar cube fully with the bitters and water before adding ice, or grit lingers at the bottom of the glass.
History
The Old Fashioned – IBA is the International Bartenders Association's codified specification of the Old Fashioned, included among the "Unforgettables" on the IBA's official cocktail list, first compiled in 1961 and updated periodically since. It keeps the drink's basic structure of muddled sugar, bitters, and whiskey, and fixes standard proportions and garnish as a single reference recipe for bartenders worldwide.
A widely repeated club legend ties the Old Fashioned to the Pendennis Club in Louisville, Kentucky, around 1881, with bourbon distiller Colonel James E. Pepper said to have carried the recipe to New York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Historians note that old-fashioned whiskey cocktails were already circulating decades earlier.
FAQ
What is the secret to a good Old Fashioned?
Dissolve the sugar cube completely in the bitters and water before adding ice, then stir gently, just long enough to chill and lightly dilute the bourbon.
What are common Old Fashioned mistakes?
Leaving the sugar half-dissolved, skipping the chilled water that helps it dissolve, adding the bourbon before the sugar and bitters are mixed, and stirring too briefly or too long.
