Tequila Old Fashioned
I wrote about the “Old Fashioned” in the early days of “The Spirit World.” I mention that it perhaps represents the oldest form of cocktail known, and reflects the original definition of the cocktail which was described as “…spirits of any kind, sugar, water, and bitters.” When the label “Old Fashioned” was first being applied to this drink, it was almost always used in the form of “Old Fashioned Whiskey Cocktail.” In my recently posted “Old Fashioned” episode of “The Cocktail Spirit,” I specifically say that while an Old Fashioned is traditionally made with whiskey, in some parts of the USA it is expected to instead be made with brandy, and in fact could follow that “spirits of any kind” suggestion and be made with your favorite spirit. In passing, I indicate that you could perhaps even make it with Tequila, although at the time of filming, I had never actually thought to try it that way. Since then I actually have tried a Tequila Old Fashioned, and found that either Fee Brothers or The Bitter Truth brand of “Lemon Bitters” worked really well in that drink. In the comments of that episode, somebody suggested that perhaps that Fee Brothers recently released “Grapefruit Bitters” might work well for a Tequila Old Fashioned. Joe Fee gave me a bottle of his new Grapefruit Bitters down at Tales of the Cocktail recently, so the stage was set to give this a try.
Normally, I prefer to use silver tequila for cocktails, since the unique characteristics of tequila are more pronounced in this unaged product. However, the nature of an Old Fashioned I feel makes it really highlight the features of quality aged spirits. So I broke out my bottle of Partida anejo tequila, which I normally reserve for sipping. I also had some Partida agave syrup and decided to use that instead of the simple syrup I normally would. And since of course you can’t think of tequila without thinking of lime, a slice of lime peel as a garnish was only a natural. Cherry? Hmmm… I think not.
So my final recipe was as follows:
Tequila Old Fashioned
- 1/2 tsp agave syrup
- 3 dashes Fee Brothers grapefruit bitters
- 1 1/2 oz anejo tequila
Add syrup and bitters to a small Old Fashioned glass. Add cracked ice, and stir briefly. Pour tequila over the ice, and stir again. Cut a thick slice of lime peel using a vegetable peeler, trim, twist, and drop into the drink. Serve with straws.
And frankly, I thought it worked pretty good.
Nice post Robert. I really like all kind of “Old Fashioned Drinks”, especially the “original” with Rye, the Rum Fashioned with a decent rum (I like it most with Gosling Family Reserve- this rum is so good, you hardly can do something wrong with it…), or well, the Tequila Fashioned. For the drinks with whiskey I prefer to use a sugar cube and rub (before soaking with bitters) on a orange peel. So you got already a different “bitters level”.
Very good is to use agave syrup! It is just delicious and logic. For a Rum Fashioned both is possible: rich syrup (or even a syrup made out of Jagery - the almost uncleaned solid mass of sugar cane) or also a sugar cube (cane sugar cube).
I have really to try a Scotch Fashioned - especially with single malt scotches it could be really interesting drink…
And yes, I have to start making my own bitters, as here in Dubai the supply of those things are the worst you can imagine…