food and wine	« mixology
Updated: August 12, 2009, 3:57 pm	Share    Print    Email

Bartender Agim Bracovic mixes up a “Scotch Old-Fashioned” at Casa Basso in Westhampton. Photos by Douglas Harrington

Westhampton - A classic, old-fashioned cocktail for this week's recipe - appropriately called an "Old-Fashioned." This cocktail is considered by many to actually be the first drink ever referred to as a cocktail. The "Old-Fashioned" is rumored to have first been concocted by the bartender at the Pendennis Gentleman's Club in Louisville, Kentucky in the 1880s. This cocktail can be made with rye, bourbon or scotch whiskeys, depending on your preference. Bartender Agim Bracovic described how a "Scotch Old-Fashioned" is constructed at Casa Basso.

A "Scotch Old-Fashioned" is considered to be the first 'cocktail.'

"First, you place a generous slice of orange and a maraschino cherry at the bottom of an old fashioned glass. You add a teaspoon of sugar and a couple of dashes of Angostura bitters. You then take a muddler and crush (muddle) the fruit, sugar and bitters together. Gently blend the mixture together by poring between the glass and a shaker or two glasses, returning the mixture to the bottom of the original glass. Fill the glass with ice and add two-three ounces of Dewar's White Label scotch and top off with a splash of club soda. Although they do not at Casa Basso, you can garnish your 'Old-Fashioned' with another orange slice and a cherry."

Ingredients
2-3 ounces of scotch whiskey
1 orange slice
1 maraschino cherry
1 teaspoon of sugar
2-3 dashes of Angostura bitters
splash of club soda
Ice