I know a fair number of my posts lately have been about alcohol, but there is a reason for that: over the past few weeks, I've been drinking plenty of it. I know, sounds bad, sounds like I'm self-medicating or something like that. That's not the case; with the exception of a few particularly rough days at work, I have not drank for any other reason than the fact that I enjoy making cocktails and drinking good beers.
I have been drinking Magic Hat (good), Dundee (MUCH better than I expected), my homemade English Brown Ale, and The Sam Adams Longshot Beers. On the cocktail side, my favorites have been: Margarita, Daiquiri, and the Old Fashioned.
Today, I would like to talk briefly about the Old Fashioned Whiskey Cocktail. It is one of the oldest named "cocktails" and is simply a Whiskey Cocktail made the "old fashioned" way. In "the old" days, a cocktail was defined as: Spirits of any kind, water, sugar, and bitters. That's all an Old Fashioned is. I could talk all day bout it, but watch the video below and you will get a better sense of how to make it. It is INCREDIBLY simple to make, and it is excellent. It takes bad whiskey's and makes them more palatable, and it takes great whiskey's and elevates them. I enjoy it with Jim Beam Rye Whiskey, and Jameson alike (in my mind, on VERY different spectrums, one is smooth and delicious, one is more harsh and "hot")
I love to watch The Cocktail Spirit, it's on my iTunes podcast list (among MANY others) and it's a very informative show.
The recipe for an Old Fashioned is (as I make it):
- 2 oz. Whiskey (Whatever you like...I'd avoid Scotch, but I've used it with American, Canadian, and Irish all with good results. My favorite is with Jameson)
- 1 tsp simple syrup
- 2-4 dashes of Angostura Bitters (to taste)
I hope this post gives you a small taste of a few drinks you can easily make and make you seem more "sophisticated". You can WOW your friends (and the ladies) by making a proper Margarita, and when you serve someone a daiquiri that doesn't put them into a sugar coma, they will be shocked. If mixology is something that interests you, I would suggest checking out "The Cocktail Spirit with Robert Hess". He is one of the more legendary mixologists of our time, so you could do worse than learn from him.
Anyway, lately, I have time to learn to mix some cocktails, less time to start my own businesses, so that is what I have been doing. I hope to get back into the entrepreneurial spirit when I get back to school and have more time.
If you are interested in starting up your own bar at home, I made an aStore on Amazon for cocktail tools that would be helpful in learning to become a master mixologist...or at least one who can dazzle.
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