Old Fashioned (for Allan)

I've always liked old-fashioned drinks, my favorite being an actual "old fashioned". My grandmother once drank too many old fashioned drinks at a family American Thanksgiving dinner and ended up spending the night in the bathroom. We were told, being very young, that Grandma was ill, but now we know that she indulged in one or two or three too many Old Fashioneds. :) Grandma was an awesome, very sturdy, German lady who loved her Whisky (forget the "e") and loved the occasional drink (usually at our home when she visited) or three (or four or five). So in memory of my Grandma Hermann, here's my Old Fashioned recipe.

Ingredients

1 in. square (or so) piece of fresh orange peel*
1/2 oz. simple syrup **
4 oz. Canadian Rye Whisky ***
2 shakes of Angostura Orange Bitters (or regular if you desire)
2, 1 in. square ice cubes

Put orange peel into the bottom of an old fashioned glass. Add simple syrup and bitters. Muddle gently (very, very gently) until the mixture becomes pale yellow. Add whisky. Add ice cubes and stir for 30 rotations or until the drink becomes "shiny" (trust my description--this is your cocktail lesson for the day). Serve and repeat until you obtain a beautiful glow. :)

~David

* The best tool to use, I think, is a simple vegetable peeler: it takes off the peel, but it leaves the pith, which is very bitter and will make for a nasty drink

** 2 c. sugar and 1 c. water; heat until sugar dissolves; chill in bottle

*** We adore Pendleton 1921; best whisky ever; very good over ice or just neat; note huge vanilla overtones.

Alternatives:

1. Substitute 1/2 oz. Hennessey Black for 1/2 oz. of the whisky for a special touch, but only if you're only having one. :)
2. Substitute 2 oz. of Edgefield Distillery Aval Pota (apple malt whisky) for 2 oz. of the regular whisky and instead of the orange peel, use grapefruit peel, but do not muddle--it's too bitter. A nice touch is to add an Amarena cherry wrapped in the grapefruit peel to the drink.