Bartender Journey - Cocktails. Spirits. Bartending Culture. Libations For Your Ears.

Bartender Journey Episode #263 The Old Fashioned. I was at a sitting at a bar the other day and there was a bartender, training a young lady who was obviously brand new to bartending. The younger one asked the one who was doing the training “how long have you been bartending”. She answers “nearly 15 years”. A ticket comes in for an Old Fashioned. Here’s a learning opportunity for the newbie, right? She explains how to make it: “Get a rocks glass Get an orange slice and a luxardo cherry and muddle it in the glass. Add ¼ to ½ oz of simple syrup and about the same amount of sweet vermouth. Add ice and then fill nearly to the top with whiskey, (usually you should ask what type of whiskey they would like). Top with club soda. Put 3 or 4 dashes of bitters on top” There are a lot of problems here. Lets take them one by one. The muddled “fruit salad” Old Fashioned was an unfortunate variation on the classic recipe. Some people like them and even expect them that way, which is fine…the best cocktail for s