With craft distilling surging in popularity, there has been a complementary growth in mixology books devoted to single spirits and even individual cocktails. This one is devoted to the Old Fashioned cocktail which, according to some, is more a style or category of mixed drink. The author, Albert W. A. Schmid, argues that the Old Fashioned is, in fact, the original cocktail.
Much of the book is devoted to exploring how the ‘Old Fashioned’ came to its name instead of lingering as just ‘cocktail’ or ‘bittered sling’ and how it came to include the muddled orange and cherry. Schmid debunks the legend that the cocktail was invented at the Pendennis Club in Louisville, as there is at least one published mention of the cocktail a year before the Pendennis Club was founded. He suggests that the cocktail as we know it today may well have originated in the venerable old club, but not the original Old Fashioned cocktail.
The author of several books on liquor, Schmid is a certified professional in wine, spirits and culinary arts. His works include The Kentucky Bourbon Cookbook, The Beverage Manager’s Guide to Wines, Beers and Spirits, and The Hospitality Manager’s Guide to Wines, Beers and Spirits.
The bittersweet, whiskey-flavored beverage is simple to make but requires practice to perfect. The process of muddling the fruit (as some recipes call for) can be very seductive, if done in the right way by the right person. The ingredients are basic ones that mix very well, the aroma is sweet, and the flavor draws the drinker in an leaves her wanting more -- not to mention the effects of alcohol, which are known to help people shed their inhibitions. The Old Fashioned is the perfect drink of seduction.