31. Be a Rockstar Home Bartender - The Old Fashioned

You combine this with last week’s podcast, “Be a Rockstar Home Bartender – The Highball,” and the previous week’s, “Tasting Whiskey,” and you are sure to be well on your way to bringing joy and inebriation to your friends and family!

Things you should also have:

1. “Tasting Whiskey” by Lew Bryson
2. “Bitters” by Brad Thomas Parsons
3. Local booze and bitters. This includes: Wigle Whiskey and Maggie’s Farm Rum if you're from Pittsburgh...which I obviously am.  But wherever you live, I encourage you to find a craft distillery and get some aged and/or spiced hooch.  Otherwise, have your favorite whiskey and rum on hand.

Today…The Old Fashioned. Three ingredients: Syrup (water + sugar), whiskey (rum will also do the trick), and bitters. You add citrus to this mix, then vary those elements and really the possibilities are almost endless. In this episode, we drink several old-fashioned cocktails and we even venture into the land of the Manhattan. We discuss how to vary and diversify all elements of the basic cocktail, and we give you music to boot.

Today’s selections include John Lee Hooker with, “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer,” and The Blues Brothers with, “Hey Bartender.”

We’re still learning Audacity and finding ways to polish this podcast toward some semblance of professional. We appreciate you coming along with us, and for your trouble I’ll share with you this recipe:

Maple-Rumaretto
(This is a variation on an old-fashioned cocktail. For this recipe you’ll need:)

>> Real maple syrup (No Aunt Jemima in my cocktail!)
>> Favorite spiced rum
(I certainly suggest either Maggie’s Farm Spiced Rum or Wigle Landlocked Spiced)
>> Favorite Amaretto
>> Aromatic and citrus bitters
(Again, I suggest Wigle Aromatic and Pomander Orange…though Angustora will certainly do.)
>> An orange from which you’ll cut a sliver of rind
>> A rocks or old-fashioned glass (or small water glass)
>> A pint glass
>> A cocktail strainer (or table spoon)
>> Standard shot glass
>> Ice
>> Spoon

Set the smaller glass to the side. In the pint glass add 2 shots of rum, 1 shot of amaretto, 1/2 shot of maple syrup, & 5 drops of each bitters. Fill the glass with ice and stir so that the liquid gets nice and cold. Using either a cocktail strainer (…you can get this anywhere, including Walmart and Target or Amazon…) or a table spoon, pour the liquid contents from the pint glass into the smaller glass WITHOUT THE ICE. You’re holding the ice back. Twist the orange rind, rub it around the rim of the glass and drop it in. Enjoy.

Folks, have fun with this!