If you walk into almost any bar with even half an interest in cocktails, you’re almost certain to find an Old Fashioned on the menu.

What’s in an Old Fashioned?

Since many of us have an ideal of what the Old Fashioned is but don’t know its exact ingredients, let’s break it down:

• An aged spirit: traditionally bourbon
• Sugar: historically a sugar cube, now more typically a sugar syrup
• Aromatic bitters: the liquid spice rack of the bar world that add depth and flavor
• A citrus peel: traditionally orange

The Old Fashioned vs. The Manhattan

The Old Fashioned has a near cousin, the Manhattan, that it’s often confused with. There are two key differences:

• Sweetener:
  • Old Fashioned → sweetened with sugar syrup
  • Manhattan → sweetened with vermouth, a bittersweet fortified wine.
• Garnish:
  • Pre-Prohibition, Manhattans had cherries and Old Fashioneds had citrus peels
  • Post–World War II (the “cocktail dark ages”), cherries began appearing in Old Fashioneds

Summary

• Old Fashioned → whiskey + sugar + bitters + citrus peel
• Manhattan → whiskey + vermouth + bitters + cherry

Preparation Is Key

If you ask a BBQ enthusiast how they make their favorite dish, it’s never just pouring sauce on and microwaving.

The same goes for the Old Fashioned. Simply pouring the ingredients into a glass without measuring, caring about ingredient quality, or stirring will yield a mediocre drink.