Old-fashioned Hoffman House Cocktail

The Hoffman Houose Bartender's Guide. New York; Charles Mahoney, 1905

When I first tended bar in the autumn of 1987, I was taught to crush up some orange and cherry into the Cocktail water (bitters, water, and sugar) as a normal part of "The Old-fashioned" [sic]. Only later did I learn that the fruit was not original to the Old-fashioned Whiskey Cocktail. The assumption of the fruit has thankfully faded from the American bar. But, whence did it come? The answer is that it seems to have come from the Hoffman House Hotel, circa the year 1900.

Wilson^™ whiskey was called for in the drink. That was a blended whiskey made of a minority portion of Highspire Monongahela-style rye whiskey (100% rye, part of which was malted), blended into a greater amount of neutral grain spirit. I feel that a Maryland-style rye whiskey is the best subsitute for such a blend.

Compare and contrast with the Old-fashioned Barney French Cocktail, and the Old-fashioned Whiskey Cocktail.

Full Recipe

Have the folowwing items:

Service-ware

6 fl-oz. old-fashioned glass tumbler
#1: 6 ½ fl-oz. Stölzle^™ 350-00-47
#2: 7 fl-oz. old-fashioned glass tumbler ^*
garniture skewer
#1: stainless steel, with spiral^*
4-inch demitasse spoon

#1: six-spoon set ^*

4-inch beverage napkin
#1: cotton (five times washable)^*
#2: paper ^*

Tools

fetcher spoon
#1: stainless steel, with hole^*
cuting board
#1: composite board (no plastic)^*
paring knife
#1: culinary school issue ^*
sugar tongs
#1: stainless steel^*
jigger-and-pony measure
[2 fl-oz. by 1 fl-oz. / ~60 ml. by ~30 ml.]
#1: stainless double-bell ^*
#2: twentieth century-style ^*
#3: Japanese-style^*
3-to-1 split pony
[¾ fl-oz. by ¼ fl-oz. / ~22.5 ml. by ~7.5 ml.]
#1: Liberty Ware Jig-1434
barspoon with disc
#1: twelve-inch stainless ^*
ice tongs
#1: steel, with teeth^*

Ingredients

preserved cherries
#1: Luxardo^™ Marasche^*
#2: Penninsula^™ Premium American Cherries^*
lemon (whole, for zest-cutting)
(Citrus limon: Eureka or Santa Theresa)
gentian bitters
: Angostura^™ Aromatic
old-fashioned lump white sugar
(must be dense – do not use modern sugar cubes)
#1: French import ^*
common orange (cut into membrane-free suprèmes)
(Citrus sinensis: Valencia or Navel)
water
(spring, or purified)
service ice
#1: cubes ~1¼ inches per side^*
Maryland-style rye whiskey
#1: Leopold Brothers^™ Maryland-style Rye Whiskey
#2: Wild Turkey^™ 101° Proof Rye Whiskey

Instructions

Use the fetcher spoon to help skewer a preserved cherry most the length through and reserve it.
Cut a ~1” wide and ~3” long strip of lemon zest with minimal pith and reserve it.
Set the old-fashioned tumbler in the work area. Into it goes:

• gentian bitters — 2 dashes
[1 scruplespoonfull / ¼ tsp. / ~1.25 ml.]
• sugar — 1 lump
(the size is not very important – see step #7)
• common orange — 1 suprèmed segment

[¼ fl-oz. / ~7.5 ml.]

Use the disc of the barspoon, or a bar masher, to crush the above into cocktail water without fully dissolving the sugar.
Remove the tool and take the old-fashioned tumbler to the ice. Into it is added:

• service ice — 1 cube

Return the old-fashioned tumbler to the work area. Into it is added:

• Maryland-style whiskey — 1 jiggerfull
[2 poniesfull / 2 fl-oz. / ~60 ml.]
• optional service ice — 2^nd cube (if desired)

Garnish the drink with:

• preserved cherry (reserved in step #2) — 1
(placed in the drink with the handle or knob of the skewer on the rim).
• lemon zest (reserved in step #2) — 1 strip
(twisted zest-side-down over the drink, rubbed on the rim, and put into the drink).

Insert the demitasse spoon. Do not stir. Let the drinker stir if more sweetness is desired.
Serve the drink on the napkin, with the spoon standing out at three o'cloock (from the drinker's point of view).

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