Old-Fashioned Appetizer

Hugo R. Ensslin, Recipes for Mixed Drinks, 1917

photo: Lizzie Munro
Old Fashioned

Even at the turn of the 20th century, bartenders couldn’t resist dressing up the pared-down Old-Fashioned. In 1917, New York bartender Hugo Ensslin decided to split the whiskey base with Dubonnet, relying on a bar spoon of Curaçao to serve as the sweetener. A cornucopia of garnishes, including an orange slice, a pineapple slice and a lemon twist, likely contributed to the drink’s name: The Old-Fashioned Appetizer.

Ingredients

Serving: 1

  • 1 ounce bourbon or rye
  • 1 ounce bourbon or rye
  • 1 ounce Dubonnet
  • 1 ounce Dubonnet
  • 1 bar spoon Curaçao
  • 1 bar spoon Curaçao
  • 2 dashes absinthe
  • 2 dashes absinthe
  • 1 orange slice
  • 1 orange slice
  • 1 pineapple slice
  • 1 pineapple slice
  • 1 dash Peychaud's bitters
  • 1 dash Peychaud's bitters

Garnish: orange slice, pineapple slice, lemon twist

Directions
  1. Add all ingredients, plus a large ice cube, into a rocks glass.
  2. Garnish with a lemon twist, orange slice and pineapple slice.
  3. Serve with a small bar spoon.

Tagged: Dubonnet, historic cocktails, Old Fashioned

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