OLD-FASHIONED

Perhaps the first and most genre-defining of cocktails, the Old-Fashioned has been carried back into heavy sipping rotation by the craft cocktail renaissance and smart bartenders who stopped treating it as a vehicle for transporting bad fruit salad. Good bars opt to leave out the pile of pineapple and neon cherries that were once all too common. You may want a twist of citrus for its fragrant oils, but that’s all the embellishment that’s called for. A little sugar, good whiskey (it can be bourbon- or rye-based, depending on your preference) and the spice of bitters to button up the whole thing nice and neat.

If you like it, try: Oaxaca Old Fashioned, Sazerac. 1 teaspoon sugar (may substitute 1 small sugar cube) 1 teaspoon warm water

2 dashes Angostura bitters

Strip of orange or lemon peel

Large ice cubes

2 ounces bourbon or rye

Combine the sugar, warm water and bitters in an oldfashioned glass, then add the citrus peel and muddle. Add some ice cubes, then the bourbon or rye, and stir to combine; make sure all the sugar has dissolved. Add a couple more ice cubes and serve. Serves 1. Per serving: 148 calories, 0 g protein, 5 g carbohydrates, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 1 mg sodium, 0 g dietary fiber, 4 g sugar From Jason Wilson; adapted by M. Carrie Allan.

DEB LINDSEY FOR THE WASHINGTON POST