Bourbon (or rye). Sugar. Bitters. Orange peel.
Combine syrup + bitters in rocks glass. Add a splash of whiskey, stir to dissolve.
Add a large cube. Add remaining whiskey. Stir 15 seconds in the glass.
Garnish: orange peel, expressed firmly, then dropped in.
The original cocktail. Before "cocktail" meant fancy, it meant exactly this: spirit, sugar, bitters, water. The Old Fashioned is the platonic ideal.
Ask: bourbon or rye, smoked or not, orange or cherry garnish (or both). Default: bourbon, no smoke, orange peel only.
The large cube matters. Pebble ice ruins this drink within 30 seconds.
Whiskey-forward. Sweet, but barely. Bitter back end. Designed to evolve over 20 minutes as the ice melts.
Pour cost target: 18%. Selling price: $17. Margin: $13.94.
Tags: bourbon, rye, old-fashioned, stirred, classic, full-canon, off-menu