How to Make an Old Fashioned (by Masaki Hayashi)

Masaki of The Bar Vagabond in Bangkok brings a worldly twist to a timeless classic. Though he hails from Japan, his Old Fashioned is inspired by his years in the United States – a place that shaped his approach to the craft of a great drink.

While the classic/original Old Fashioned recipe only calls for bourbon, sugar, and bitters, Masaki's version is a take on the Prohibition-era style which includes a slice of orange and one cherry (the bright red version, not the fancy one), which was added to mask the poor quality of bootleg whiskey available in the US at the time.

This cocktail is not to be confused with the Wisconsin Old Fashioned, which swaps the bourbon for brandy, and has an additional splash of soda water (usually something like a 7Up/Sprite).

Ingredients:

Bourbon - 45ml

Angostura bitters - 3 dashes

Peychaud's bitters - 3 dashes

Sugar cube x 1

Orange slice x 1

Cherry x 1

Method:

Put the orange slice, sugar cube, and the cherry into an Old Fashioned glass and muddle slowly, taking care not to extract the white rinds of the orange (they can be bitter). Once mixed together, add 45ml of bourbon into