Classic Cocktails

Go beyond the Old Fashioned with these timeless bourbon & rye date-night drinks

Story and photos by JANNA ZEPP

Nothing says “America,” quite like bourbon. Named for Bourbon County, Kentucky, where the spirit was born during the late 18th Century when Kentucky pioneers began distilling whiskey from corn and they stored the whiskey in charred oak barrels that gave it its particular color and flavor. Bourbon became currency during the American Civil War since the convenience of transporting liquor surpassed the ease of carrying paper money or coins. Wildly popular with Americans, the bourbon industry boomed. By the beginning of the 20th Century, more than 4,000 distilleries flourished across the country since bourbon does not need to be made in Bourbon County, though Kentucky remained, as it does today, the center of production.

But what about rye, you might ask. Rye whiskey, bourbon’s older sibling, dates back to around 1750 and predates bourbon by several decades.

Born in Pennsylvania when farmers and immigrants attempted to create whiskeys similar to what was enjoyed in Great Britain, Ireland, and parts of Europe, rye whiskey came from the rye grain that grew well in the Mid-Atlantic climate of that region.

Like bourbon, rye may be made anywhere, but to be proper rye here in the States, production follows particular rules, the most important of which being that it must be made from a fermented mash of at least 51% rye grain. The remaining mash can contain other cereal grains. As with bourbon, it must be distilled to no more than 80% alcohol by volume (ABV) and proofed down to be barreled at no more than 62.5% ABV. Rye must be matured in new charred oak containers and bottled at no less than 40% ABV.

Bourbon exists for more than just on-trend Old Fashioneds, of which my own husband, Frank, is quite the learned mixologist (he even smokes his Old Fashioned cocktails with a special contraption that allows him to smoke seven highball classes at once). Here are some bourbon cocktails we’ve discovered and tested in our own home bar in our living room for your stay-at-home date night or a cocktail party you might host in the future. Be sure to have on hand some bar equipment with which to make your drinks, such as mixing glass, jigger, strainer, cocktail glass, and cocktail shaker. Don’t forget the ice.

The Sazerac

This recipe comes directly from The Sazerac House in New Orleans where this classic cocktail first appeared.

Ingredients
1.5 oz bourbon
1 sugar cube
3 dashes bitters, preferably Peychaud’s
.25 oz anise-flavored liqueur or absinthe
Lemon twist

Preparation
Pack an Old-Fashioned glass with ice. In a second Old-Fashioned glass, place a sugar cube and add three dashes of bitters to it. Crush the sugar cube. Add 1.5 oz bourbon to the glass with the Peychaud’s Bitters and sugar. Add ice and stir. Empty the ice from the first glass and coat the glass with .25 oz anise-flavored liqueur or absinthe. Discard the remaining anise-flavored liqueur or absinthe. Strain the whiskey / bitters / sugar mixture from the glass into the anise-flavored liqueur or absinthe-coated glass and garnish with a lemon peel.

The Fanciulli

Pronounced “fan-CHEE-oo-lee,” mystery shrouds this cocktail. This enigmatic concoction packs a flavor punch and if Manhattans are your poison, this is similar with a bitter menthol touch. Legend holds that “fanciulli” means “the boys” in Italian slang. This one is an excellent choice for guy’s night as well as date night at home. If Italian proves difficult on your tongue, you can call it a Tony Soprano and leave it at that.

Ingredients
1 1/2 ounces bourbon or rye
3/4 ounce sweet vermouth
1/4 ounce Fernet Branca (a liqueur as the grown-up Jägermeister)

Preparation
Pour the whiskey, sweet vermouth, and Fernet Branca into a mixing glass filled with ice. Stir until outside of mixing glass is very cold to touch, about 15 seconds. Strain into a cocktail glass and serve.

The Ward 8

The Ward Eight hails from Boston and represents Bean Town’s contribution to craft cocktails. Allegedly created in 1898 in Boston in honor of the election of Martin M. Lomasney to the state legislature, Lomasney was a powerful politician of legendary clout in Boston for 40 years, having been the political boss in Boston’s Eighth Ward. If local, state, or national politics is your thing, then this might well be your thirst-quencher.

Ingredients
2 ounces bourbon or rye
1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
1/2 ounce fresh orange juice
2 teaspoons grenadine
Garnish: 2 or 3 speared cherries

Preparation
Add the bourbon, lemon and orange juices and grenadine to a shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with speared cherries.

The Commodore 64

This cocktail comes from the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City from post Prohibition days, circa 1935. Rum often substitutes for bourbon and this cocktail allows the mixologist to play with other ingredients to create Commodore variations that delight equally. The drink derives its name from Cornelius Vanderbilt nicknamed “the Commodore,” an American business magnate who built his vast wealth in railroads and shipping. Reputed to be difficult, conniving, and irascible, Vanderbilt built more than he destroyed and was considered also to be honorable, shrewd, and hard-working. You might recognize one of Vanderbilt’s famous descendants, Anderson Cooper of CNN, whose mother was Gloria Vanderbilt, famous for her designer blue jeans during the 1980s.

Ingredients
1 1/3 ounces bourbon
2/3 ounce white crème de cacao
2/3 ounce fresh lemon juice
2/3 ounce fresh orange juice
1/2 ounce grenadine
Dash of Fee Brothers Old Fashion bitters or Angostura bitters
1 orange wedge, for garnish

Preparation
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add all of the remaining ingredients except the garnish and shake well. Strain into an ice-filled rocks glass and garnish with the orange wedge.
Bottom’s up, y’all!