Winedown Wednesday: The Old Fashioned Way

Today, most people look high and low for an excuse to be lush. Back in the day, it was a little bit more of a necessity, so I hear. The water was contaminated. Hm, doesn’t seem like we’ve come too far. It’s a different kind of contamination though. I think it’s funny when I hear or read about people saying how there’s no need to have a water filter. Tell that to the residents of Flint, MI or Chicago, IL. They might as well be decanting out of crystal.

Back to the point of the post. I’m becoming more social, which inevitably means having people over to my humble abode. I used to never have anything to drink around. Then I started keeping a bottle of red wine around. Frey Wine’s table red. It’s cheap and it’s one of my favorites. No added sulfites either. Then I had some friends over that I know like white wine, so I bought the white version.

They came over, we’re noshing on cheese and crackers and I ask if anyone wants a drink. Someone spit back at me with a request for a mixed drink. I’m thinking to myself, I could do a white wine spritzer as a mixed drink, but that’s about it.

I pondered about the incident, and came to the conclusion that having a bar might be a nice feature. It struck me as a grown-up thing to do. I occasionally get a mixed drink when I’m out on the town. Some of my friends are big on a cocktail before dinner. It’s supposed to be a digestive aid, right? When we went to Cuba, my friend Jesse noted that drinking with the meal would prevent any chance of food borne illness.

This is supposed to be a recipe for an Old Fashion. Let me just get to it.

The first old fashion I ever had was 3 years ago in Montana. I remember the night vividly, because I remember what I wore. A turtleneck with a polo shirt over it. What was I thinking?? Got dressed before the drink too. It was sweet, but good.

This one is made with Urban Moonshine digestive bitters. Alcohol is a great delivery system, so why not throw in some great herbs? Four Roses is my favorite bourbon. It’s cheap, and it’s made with non gmo corn. I like maple sugar, because as far as sugar goes, it’s nutrient dense. The only reason I used these stainless cubes, is because I didn’t have any ice prepared and didn’t want to wait. A vacating tenant left these in the freezer, so I grabbed them.

As I write this, I’m thinking to myself I should focus on concision this year. Here’s the recipe.

You’ll need:

2 oz Four Roses Bourbon

A splash of Gerolsteiner Sparkling Water

1/2 tsp Maple Sugar

1/2 tsp Urban Moonshine Bitters

Orange Peel

Ice or Stainless Steel

The process:

Drop the sugar in the glass.

Add bitters.

Mix and dissolve, rotating the glass to coat the interior.

Add bourbon.

Add orange peel.

Splash with soda.

Add ice cubes or stainless steel cubes.

Enjoy!