Before we get on to the meat of today’s post—Old-Fashioneds!—I’d like to extend an invite to all The Mix subscribers to a special event that is coming up on June 2.
On that day, from 4 to 6 p.m., my fellow writer Andrew Friedman and I will be hosting a double-header book event at the wonderful new Brooklyn restaurant Swooney’s. Andrew and I shared a publication day last autumn. On Oct. 17, both my The Encyclopedia of Cocktails and his new book The Dish were launched into the world. Soon after, we hatched the idea of combining forces to promote our books.
It took more than six months to come up with the right idea, but it was worth the wait. For just $75, attendees at the Swooney’s event will get a welcome cocktail (made with either Fort Hamilton Gin or Pinhook Bourbon), passed bites, a signed copy of both of our books, and a ringside seat to a conversation between the two of us, all in a beautiful bistro atmosphere. You don’t have to be a math whiz to realized that that all adds up to more than $75 in value.
Entry is limited to only 50 people. For tickets, follow this link at Resy. I hope to see you there.
The Old-Fashioned, my first cocktail book, is ten years old this month! Hard to believe.
It coincides, as chance would have it, with the 15th anniversary of my first cocktail article in The New York Times (June 2, 2009)—which also happened to be about The Old-Fashioned. That cocktail will always represent important beginnings for me.
(You can read about the history of how The Old-Fashioned made the leap from idea to reality here.)
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If, in 2014, the publishing industry didn’t think the history of a single cocktail could sustain an entire book, it certainly realized it soon after The Old-Fashioned came out and quickly went into multiple printings. The decade since has seen the publication of the follow volumes:
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The Negroni: Drinking to La Dolce Vita, with Recipes & Lore, by Gary Regan (2015)
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The Manhattan Cocktail: A Modern Guide to the Whiskey Classic, by Albert W.A. Schmid (2015)
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The Manhattan: The Story of the First Modern Cocktail with Recipes, by Philip Greene (2016)
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Spritz: Italy’s Most Iconic Aperitivo Cocktail, with Recipes, by Talia Baiocchi and Leslie Pariseau (2016)
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The Bloody Mary: The Lore and Legend of a Cocktail Classic, with Recipes for Brunch and Beyond, by Brian Bartels (2017)
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The Negroni: A Love Affair with a Classic Cocktail, by Matt Hranek (2021)
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The Sazerac, by Tim McNally (2022)
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The Absinthe Frappé, by Marielle Song (2023)
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The Vieux Carré, by John DeMers (2023)
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The French 75, by John Maxwell Hamilton (2024)
And this doesn’t take into account the several volumes on the Martini that have been published in the last few years, including my own, The Martini Cocktail, in 2019; or the countless other knock-off volumes that typically come out of the woodwork every time one of the above books hit the shelves.
The world hasn’t stopped lapping up Old-Fashioneds in the decade since the book came out; nor have bartenders stopped inventing Old-Fashioned riffs. I often wish I could put together a new edition of the book with twice as many recipes. But, for now, printing a few new Old-Fashioneds here will have to do!
Before we go to the recipes, let me offer a gentle reminder that Father’s Day is June 16. Need a gift idea? Here you go!
On to the recipes! Happy Friday and Cheers!
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