Old-fashioned ones are usually dark drinks made with brown liquors, but the basic format – alcohol, sugar, bitters, ice – can be applied to any high quality spirit, including pale ones. Really good gin doesn’t need much else – that’s why martinis are so popular – but the beauty of an old-fashioned or old-fashioned gin lies in its simple construction. (My love of gin is only matched by my love of not doing anything.)
You could make an old-fashioned gin with old sugar and it would be fine, but I took an extra step to make this cocktail lighter, sunnier, and a little more special. You may remember that I’m a huge fan of Stella Parks’ no-cook scrap fruit syrupsthat are extremely effortless and delicious. After making a pitcher of lemonade recently, I tossed the used lemon peel with sugar and let it hang until a beautifully fragrant yellow syrup collected at the bottom of the bowl. (Thank you, Osmose!)
I then mixed a teaspoon of the resulting syrup with a couple of ounces of Hendricks Lunar Gin, which lacks the cucumber flavor of the original but is offset by more citrus fruits. (Full disclosure: you sent me this gin.) Any gin would work with this syrup, however, as lemon and gin are two great flavors that go great together. You can stir everything (with ice) and strain it into a lowball with a large cube, or you can build it right into the glass and add broken ice to dilute and cool it on the spot. (I almost always choose the latter option because it’s the easiest.) To make this sunny, just cute enough old-fashioned one, you will need:
- 2 ounces gin
- 1 teaspoon Lemon syrup
- 3 strokes of Angostura bitter
Pour everything into a lowball and stir, then add plenty of broken ice and stir again. This drink will be a bit hot at first, but it will get milder as the ice melts which is part of the trip in my opinion.
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