A lot of people ask me for recommendations for eating and drinking in Chicago. I scrounge up what I can, but the truth is, I am really not the person to ask. I haven’t spent a lot of my adult life in Chicago. Sure, I come home a few times a year, but I usually frequent my favorite spots and restaurants close to my parents’.
I left Chicago when I was 18 and moved to Milwaukee when I turned 21. My first drinks were served up in Wisconsin, and my formative drinking years were spent in the Milwaukee bar scene. Sure, my foundation is pure Chicago, but I’m kind of a Wisconsin girl at heart. I even cheer for the Bucks (I just love Giannis).
So my very first old fashioned was made with cherries, oranges, brandy, and 7-up. I didn’t even know that that wasn’t a true old fashioned (or that it’s so hotly debated in the co*cktail world) for several years. I just thought old fashioneds were.. awesome.
Don’t get me wrong, at this point I’ve certainly had a normal old fashioned and I love them just as much — but I will never not love the cherry-packed highball that Wisconsin serves up in a rocks glass.
To start, a regular old fashioned is bourbon, a sugar cube, and a few dashes of bitters. You’d typically garnish it with an orange peel and a cherry if you like it a little more citrusy-sweet. It’s really great for those who can’t just drink bourbon neat, and also a good treat for when you don’t want bourbon neat. Because sometimes you don’t.
A Wisconsin old fashioned follows a very similar blueprint but adds a few more controversial elements. Instead of just using the cherry and orange as garnish, it’s muddled with the sugar cube and bitters. Brandy is poured over top instead of bourbon, and — most controversially — the drink is topped with soda.
If you want to look like a local ordering an old fashioned in wisconsin, order it like this: “Can I have a brandy old fashioned sweet?”
You’ll ask it like a question because you’re an uber-polite Wisconsinite, and you’ll indicate your soda preference right in the order by adding “sweet”. This means you’ll get your old fashioned with 7-up or Sprite.
Otherwise, you can elect to have an old fashioned sour or an old fashioned press. A “sour” will be made with Squirt or sour mix (or Jolly Good, if you can find it, but I hardly ever could) and a “press” will be either club soda or half club soda, half 7-up.
When I lived in Wisconsin I tried old fashioneds every which way. I thought the club soda was gross and the 7-up was perfect. The Jolly Good was a wildcard that I’d save for special occasions, just to switch it up.
If you do want a regular old fashioned, just say bourbon old fashioned. It’s unlikely a bartender would think you want soda in that, but if they’re not sure, they’ll just ask “sour or sweet?” and you can clarify from there.
cherries: Okay, I realized I might get roasted for this, but I use the dark, syrupy Luxardo cherries for my old fashioneds. Technically, they’re usually made with the bright red Maraschino. Don’t hate me for this, but I think those taste like chemicals. Plus, the dark cherries add an allure and chicness to a kind of quirky co*cktail. Do whatever you please. I truly don’t think it matters which cherry you use (just don’t use fresh cherries, that would be odd)
sugar cube: This is widely debated amongst co*cktail enthusiasts. I’m in the camp that the sugar cube is the proper way to add sweetness to an old fashioned, but many (including Evan) would argue that simple syrup is much smoother tasting. Either works, and it does not, for the record, taste grainy with a sugar cube. Use what you have.
oranges: You want one good slice of a naval orange to muddle and a wedge to garnish with after. You can also simply use the peel, like I did, to garnish.
bitters: For a true old fashioned, you’ll just want the classic Angostura bitters. Bitters are like the salt and pepper of a co*cktail, so don’t be tempted to leave them out. To switch up the flavor, try bitters like cardamom, almond, or habanero.
brandy: It’s traditional to use Korbel (Core-bell) brandy in a Wisconsin old fashioned, but at the end of the day, any decent brandy will do. If you really can’t stand to use brandy, just swap for bourbon.
7-up, sprite, squirt, or club soda: Totally your choice here based on whether you want it sweet, sour, or press. This may be another ingredient I get roasted for, but I don’t think it matters whether you use 7-up or Sprite. They taste the same to me…I’m sorry! You can also try Jolly Good if you see it, which will be a sour alternative that will get you big Wisconsin points with your friends up north.
