Enjoy a classic and quirky take on the Old Fashioned cocktail this November
Imagine it’s the 1800s. Prop on a barstool at your favourite drinking hole and ask for your drink ‘the old fashioned way’. The bartender will start with muddling sugar with a dash of bitters, adding whiskey and ice, before stirring and finishing with a twist of citrus rind, usually an orange peel.
Though its exact origins are still debatable, the Old Fashioned showcases whiskey in all its glory. Though it has been around for centuries, the tasty cocktail is still being enjoyed today. Whether you’re a seasoned whisky drinker or new to the field, now is the perfect time to enjoy an Old Fashioned.
Back for another year is Woodford Reserve Old Fashioned Week, running from 1-10 November across the nation. A number of well-known bars will be participating to showcase their version of an Old Fashioned, using ingredients that will pleasantly surprise you.
Woodford Reserve is a small batch whisky created in Kentucky’s oldest operating distillery. This award-winning American whisky boasts a taste profile of more than 200 flavours, including wood, oak, caramel and vanilla notes. Though so many flavours may sound overhwhelming to the untrained palate, it allows bartenders a vast number of options to create their own style of the Old Fashioned using Woodford Reserve.
GoGo Bar
Below the renowned restaurant ChinChin lies GoGo Bar. Oozing cool, underground vibes, it is the perfect place to enjoy their take on the Old Fashioned. Featuring their own handpicked barrel of Woodford Reserve, named “GoGo Batch 1”, GoGo Bar have created “This is the one!” Combining Woodford Reserve, kinoto sake, applewood smoked gula melaka, coconut, honeyed apricot and hickory bitters, this quirky take on a classic is sure to please.
Manchuria Bar
After your successful navigation through a laneway and up a precarious staircase to an unmarked door, step inside Manchuria Bar. Fusing old world Asia and new world Melbourne, this intimate venue in China Town is ideal to settle in for the evening with its cosy nooks. Manchuria Bar has produced a unique ‘White Old Fashioned’ with cherry blossom garnish. Using a distillation process, bartender Jack Lin has created a not-so-old-fashioned Old Fashioned.
Emerald Peacock
Similar to its luxurious interior, Emerald Peacock have created the “Fashionable” cocktail for Woodford Reserve Old Fashioned Week. Combining Woodford Reserve, salted orange and tonal bean syrup, oolong tea tincture and plum jam, this tipple will ensure you will be going back for more.
Woodford Reserve Old Fashioned week will be here and gone before you know it, so why not plan your own bar crawl to check out what’s on offer.
Or, if you’re keen to give your Old Fashioned making skills a go at home, try the recipe from Woodford Reserve here.
Participating Melbourne Bars:
Citiclub
Elephant and Wheelbarrow
P.J. O’Briens
Byblos
Young and Jackson
White Oaks Saloon
Maeve Fox
Katuk
The Botanical Hotel
The Corner Hotel
Cane Cutters
Talk To Me
Black Smith Bar
The Emerson Rooftop
Le Bon Tong
The Emerald Peacock
Manchuria
GoGo Bar
Trumpy
Macelleria Richmond
Royal Derby Hotel
Hatts & Tatts
FeesFees
Fitzroy Beer Garden
La Di Da
Ludlow
Temperance Hotel
Meadmaiden
Stolberg Hotel
Whisky & Alement
The Deck Bar