Old Fashioned
2 oz bourbon (or rye or whiskey)
2-3 dashes aromatic bitters (like Angostura)
0.25 oz simple syrup
citrus peel garnish
1. Fill a mixing glass with ice.
2. Add all ingredients and stir until chilled.
3. Strain into a rocks glass with a large ice cube.
4. Express the orange peel, run around the glass rim, and drop into the cocktail.
Variations:
Bourbon: use rye or whiskey
Bitters: add 2-3 dashes orange bitters
Sugar: use 1 sugar cube or 1 tsp sugar + 1 tsp water and muddle 1st before adding ice and remaining ingredients.
Sugar: use simple syrup made with brown sugar or maple syrup. Simple syrup is 1 part sugar to 1 part water, dissolved. Keeps for a few weeks in the refrigerator.
Garnish: slice of orange, and/or maraschino cherry.
Stirring vs muddling: If muddling, use fresh orange and sugar and water. Muddle orange, sugar, water, and cherry before adding bourbon and ice to stir. If stirring, use liquid simple syrup).
Temperance Punch
1 cup strong brewed tea (2-4 tsp tea per 8 oz, to taste)
1/2 cup orange juice, best if fresh squeezed
1/2 cup grapefruit juice (or pineapple juice)
1/2 cup simple syrup (or to taste)
1. Mix all and serve over ice in a tall glass.
2. Garnish with 2-3 slices of fresh fruit (optional - add maraschino cherries).
Optional: add sugar rim to the glass.
Sidecar
1 1/2 oz cognac
3/4 oz orange liqueur (like Cointreau)
3/4 oz fresh lemon juice
Garnish: orange twist, sugar rim
1. Coat the rim of a coupe glass with sugar and set aside.
2. Add cognac, orange liqueur and lemon juice to a shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled.
3. Strain into glass, add orange twist.
Cheat: use sour mix instead of fresh lemon juice, and decrease Cointreau to 1/2 oz.