this is I strongly recommend it, a column devoted to the foods people are eating, drinking and buying right now. Here, OJ Lima writes about Gold Fashioned, a ready-to-drink cocktail that he (and his wife) can’t get enough of.
I love making fancy cocktails. I have all professional equipment. I own a liquor store, so I have a cabinet full of alcohol at my disposal. My wife wasn’t a big drinker, but when I started to bless her with my signature Old-Her Fashion: burnt lemon zest, toasted almonds her bitters, and hickory wood smoked glasses. , cocktail requests became much more frequent. After all, Captain Cocktail is a lot more work than you might imagine. So I asked a bartender friend for some tips to speed up the process, and he told me to research ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails.
A riff on Old Fashioned, Gold Fashioned was conceived by highly skilled mixologist Robert Haynes, best known for his work at two of Chicago’s most famous cocktail bars, Violet Hour and Analog. it was done. Instead of the usual well-made whiskey, Haynes sources his 15-year-old bourbon, 9-year-old bourbon, and 6-year-old rye combos. Basic white sugar has been replaced by Demerara from Malawi.Bitters are made from a combination of saffron from Afghanistan, vanilla from Tahiti, cacao from Ecuador, gentian root from France, and orange peel from Seville. Just in case fresh, ripe citrus isn’t available, it comes with a small spray bottle of Orange His Essence to give the cocktail that classic Old His Fashion flavor his profile. Premium ingredients make a big difference. One sip and I knew this wasn’t your average canned RTD with artificial sweeteners.
The fateful Sunday night just before it began. House of the Dragon, my wife made an old fashioned request. I faked her frustration into believing it was going to be her chore, then I ripped myself off the couch and disappeared into the kitchen, where the Gold Fashioned was hidden in the cabinet. We completed the cocktail in 4 easy moves.
- step 1: Put a large ice cube in a rocks glass.
- step 2: Pour Gold Fashioned into a glass.
- step 3: Spray with orange zest atomizer.
- step 4: Decorate with orange peel.
I was done in 30 seconds, but spent 5 minutes fiddling with the phone to pitch the ploy. When I heard the theme song, I showed up with her favorite cocktail. “This is not how you normally make it,” her wife said after the first bite. “But it’s really, really good.”
We don’t keep secrets at home, so I had to make a fuss. “Now I can make my own.”
There’s only one rub here: Gold Fashioned doesn’t come cheap. A bottle will set you back $150. I have an expensive bottle of bourbon that is less expensive. But I like to approach gold fashion this way. A cocktail at an upscale bar with ingredients of this quality will cost you at least $20. With Gold Fashioned, you can have at least 10 drinks per bottle, so you’re looking at $15 a cup.
I never believed in RTDs, but Gold Fashioned changed my mind. It is a bottle that you want to keep on your liquor shelf. The best part for me is that now on TV night I can loaf on the couch while my wife makes cocktails.