Anatomy of a Classic Cocktail: The Old Fashioned

One of the oldest and most enduring cocktails, the old fashioned is a study in the staying power of simplicity. Master the basic formula—a must in every bartender’s repertoire

The old fashioned, simple and elegant. Shutterstock

So simple and elegant. Made with just four ingredients—whiskey, sugar, bitters, and a twist of orange—the old fashioned has survived for centuries while other mixes have come and gone.

We love our legends: The Pendennis Club, a gentlemen’s club founded in 1881 in Louisville, Kentucky, claims to be the birthplace of the old fashioned, invented by a bartender in honor of bourbon-maker Colonel James E. Pepper, who, in turn, shared the recipe with the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel bar in New York City.