How to Make the Old Fashioned Cocktail Variant – Robb Report

“But maybe I see young Cupid’s fiery shaft
Quenched in the chaste rays of the watery moon,
And the Imperial Votarin went on,
In virgin meditation, free from fantasies.”
–A Midsummer Night’s DreamAct II Scene I

You might think Fancy Free is a silly name for a cocktail, but given where it’s from, we should be thankful it’s not called “Single and Ready to Mingle.”

To explain, “fancy free” used to be a popular expression, but it’s all but gone. I realize it sounds like a grocery store rewards program or sugar-free cat food or something, but the phrase was coined by none other than Shakespeare himself and essentially means “single and carefree.” It first appears in the admittedly indecipherable passage above which, translated into usable English, describes how Cupid aimed his arrow at a young lady, but the moon missed, allowing the lady to carry on free from the burdens of love with which she was born being hit Cupid’s arrow would bring – she still didn’t feel like (read: having a crush on) someone, so she was “devoid of lust”. Think of it as the Elizabethan DTF.

What does all this have to do with whisky, maraschino liqueur and bitters? Not only do I not know, I suspect no one knows. Crosby Gaige, from his 1940 book Cocktail Guide and Ladies Companion this drink wasn’t a bartender, just a recipe collector, and favored cocktails with eccentric names—so much so that when one of the cocktails he’d collected didn’t have an extravagant name, he gave it one. “This may be [cocktails] sometimes entitled to new and different names,” he asserts in his introduction, “I’ve spoiled myself a bit with this idea in the present work.” This could be the Psychopathia Sexualis (gin, vermouth, sherry and bitter), Why Minks Make Love (apricot brandy and lemon) and The Widows are Seldom Destitute (Dubonnet, vermouth and bitter). He’s also the one who changed the Atty cocktail to the Arsenic & Old Lace for seemingly no reason and in the present case took the Improved Whiskey cocktail – an established classic for 60 years at this point – dropped the absinthe and called it Fancy Free.

At least it’s fun to say Fancy Free. His “Mrs. Solomon Wears Slacks” (Brandy, Curaçao and Bitter) was never destined for fame, no matter how good it might be. And that’s a good thing, because the Fancy Free is a wonderful little old-fashioned twist and is one of the most used and enjoyed dealer’s choice whiskey cocktails in a craft bartender’s arsenal. The Fancy Free is an enhanced whiskey cocktail (whiskey, maraschino, bitters and absinthe) without absinthe. As easy as the substitution is, it’s a fluid argument for the idea that subtle changes mean everything – while the Improved Cocktail is dominated by the aniseed and liquorice of the absinthe, the Fancy Free lets the floral, earthy nuances of the maraschino shine through in every part The taste experience comes to expression. In other words, where the Improved Cocktail is loaded with Absinthe, the Fancy Free is, yes, Fancy Free.

lust free

Build an old-fashioned glass over the largest piece of ice you have. Stir for 10 to 15 seconds and garnish with an orange zest.

NOTES ON INGREDIENTS

Whiskey: Pretty much everyone says to use bourbon for this, and that’s how I’ve always done it. However, in experimenting for this article, I was surprised to find that my favorite version was with the mild and overlooked Canadian whiskey. Gaige himself demanded Fine Arts Whiskey, which no longer exists, but which would have been a milder five-year-old blend from Canada Dry and probably had more in common with Canadian whiskey than bourbon.

Regardless of the story, side by side I thought Canadian whiskey was a more composed end product, allowing the maraschino to do the talking without the two stepping on each other’s toes. Crown Royal or Canadian Club are both good as are others. If you’re using bourbon, go for a milder strain—now is a good time to use one of the softer wheat bourbons like Maker’s Mark, or a solid 80-proof option like Four Roses Yellow Label.

Final note on whiskey: if you’re using anything less than, say, 86 proof, you’ll want to use a little less liquor to prevent it from becoming too sweet. And if it gets too sweet, just add 1/4 ounce more whiskey until it comes back into balance.

maraschino cherry: Maraschino liqueur is a liqueur made from the sour Maraska cherry, which grows most commonly around the Adriatic Sea in Italy and Croatia. It’s different from something like Cherry Heering in that it’s distilled from cherries, not infused with them, so it has cherry notes, sure, but also earthy and funky notes. The vast majority of bars that carry one carry the annoyingly tall Luxardo bottle which works great. If you happen to live near a liquor store that sells the Maraska brand, this would be the cocktail to try it in, more cherry flesh than the Luxardo’s cherry pits, richer and brighter.

orange bitters: This is a seriously difficult question. For me, there is still not a single brand of orange bitters that comes out on top. Many excellent bars make bitter blends of equal parts Fee Brothers and Regan’s Orange Bitters (aka “Feegans”). A few more add a third part Angostura Orange to this blend, which has a distinct spiciness that some people love and others find synthetic. My own Orange Bitters blend has grown to 6 brands, so Byzantine I’d be embarrassed to print and intended only for people who are frustrated madly at the lack of good Orange Bitters.

All of this is to say: whatever orange bitters you get is fine. Which isn’t really true, but it’s true enough. If you’re feeling brave and want to order off the internet, my favorite all-purposes are probably the juicy and flavorful Miracle Mile and the beautiful, floral Bitter Queens.