The Old Fashioned is the OG cocktail. The first reference to it came with the first published definition of the word “cocktail.” On May 13, 1806, an edition of a newspaper called The Balance and Columbian Repository, referred to a cocktail as consisting of spirits, bitters, water, and sugar. The name “Old Fashioned” came about decades later in 1881.
A bartender in Kentucky made the drink with bourbon, bitters, club soda, muddled sugar, and ice. It was made to honor Colonel James E. Pepper, a prominent bourbon distiller.
So, it’s a cocktail that’s been around for awhile. And for good reason.
