Monday, January 12, 2009

Old Fashioned


The debate on the Old Fashioned cocktail continues. The only bottom line as far as I'm concerned? If you order one in a bar, the bartender should most certainly not a) glare at you and tell you it's a really high-maintenance drink or b) ask you how to make it. So I suppose that, for me, in addition to being a tasty beverage, it's also something of a litmus test of the man or woman who makes it.

P.S. I realize no one in this photo is drinking an Old Fashioned.

1 comment:

P.L. Kerpius said...

The Old Fashioned is my favorite drink, and I learned many years ago that almost no one knows how to make it. How many times I've been asked "What's in it?" I have learned not to respond to this and simply order something they know (e.g. beer, appletini); the times I have relayed the recipe it usually ends in disaster: either too much soda or no muddling of the sugar and fruits. This makes me crazy, really. Is this a barometer of society's shift away from class and simplicity? You can't find a more classy drink than the old fashioned, as far as I'm concerned (maybe the martini has the one up here). Can we start a revolution? I want my drink back!

Here's a tip though: any bartender over the age of 50 will know how to make it, so frequent the places with old timers hanging around. The Palm restaurant (I know, I know, so pricey!) always seems to have a septuagenarian on staff to master this task. And they make 'em good. And in a firm, heavy glass too, with a fine chunk of ice. Delicious.

Lunchtime?

Also, are you watching Mad Men? I'm dying to netflix season 1. I went to middle school with Vinnie Kartheiser, the one in the center of the image.