I’ve always liked a good cocktail, but something about living in London has alerted me to the fact that I don’t really know enough about the art of making them as I’d like to. As a kind of educational project, I’m planning to make a new cocktail every week, and work my way through as many classic recipes as possible. I hope to learn a lot over the course of the year about spirits, techniques, and equipment, including but not limited to how to make perfectly clear ice cubes.
As a starting point, I’m using this list at Serious Eats. I don’t intend to do it in the same order, or necessarily cover all of the cocktails on the list, but I like it as a reference point. I’m going to start with a true classic, the original cocktail – just spirit, sugar, water, and bitters.
Most Old-Fashioned recipes call for you to muddle a sugar cube with a dash of water and bitters, and then add the whisky on top. Some call for the fruit to be muddled as well, but I thought I’d keep it straightforward this time. I didn’t happen to have sugar cubes, but I had just whipped up a batch of simple syrup and was eager to use it, so I went for that instead. Unfortunately I sloshed it a bit too forcefully and ended up with an overly sweet first round, but I dialed it back successfully for the second go and got the balance right. I feel sort of like a grandfather drinking it, but a cool one.
- 1 tsp simple syrup
- 3 dashes Angostura bitters
- 1 tsp water
- 1.5 fl oz bourbon
- Orange slice, maraschino cherry
Mix sugar, water and bitters together. Add ice, then bourbon, and garnish with the orange and cherry.
Lovely idea! Even if you were to complete only several week’s worth, I’d follow your cocktail odyssey.
I’ve been stuck on my own Week 2 for a couple years. 😉