OLD-FASHIONED

OLD FASHIONED

1 sugar cube

2 dashes Angostura bitters

¼ ounce cold water

2 ounces American whiskey

Lemon wedge

Happy Administrative Professionals Day! Since 2000, it’s the new way to say Secretaries Day and it’s celebrated all over the world. As an administrative professional myself, a.k.a., a paper pusher, I thought I’d celebrate with a cocktail that was popular among secretaries of the golden era of the 1960s — an OLD FASHIONED. At least that’s what it looks like from Mad Men, the AMC hit show that chronicles the drama in an ad agency in the 60s.

Mad Men has made the OLD FASHIONED popular again, bringing the cocktail out of hiding from the old-man bars, where it never really went out of style. There are many different varieties of the OLD FASHIONED cocktail, and I plan to try the other ways soon, but tonight I tried an old-fashioned OLD FASHIONED, which is the one originally called a whiskey cocktail. Making it involved muddling, which is perfect for taking out anger at your boss. You start by dropping a sugar cube into a short rocks glass, adding a couple of dashes of Angostura bitters, and ¼ an ounce of cold water. Then you muddle. Then you add the whiskey or bourbon of your choosing (I used Old Grandad), ice and a lemon wedge. Give the lemon a squeeze, then plop it into the glass.

I shared my OLD FASHIONED with two brown liquor aficionados, Hubby and my Dad. They liked the OLD FASHIONED, but they didn’t love it. They thought it was too sweet with the sugar and such, and it reminded Hubby of Southern Comfort. They prefer their brown liquor undisguised and on the rocks. I thought it was not sweet enough. It was better than whiskey straight, but not as good as yesterday’s CC & Ginger. Still, I sipped, I enjoyed, and I made a toast to all my fellow paper pushers and all we do to help make this crazy world of our go ‘round.

Drink Up^

Cocktail Connie