Cooking Lesson #1160: Joan’s Milwaukee Tavern Old Fashioned

…from the Perspectives’ Happy Hour Bar

How you doin’? Joan’s Milwaukee Old Fashioned is a classic brandy cocktail built right in the glass with muddled oranges, cherries, sugar and bitters. It is finished with brandy and a splash of lemon-lime soda.
 
This cocktail is simple, somewhat nostalgic and unapologetically old-school. It is still the cocktail you’ll find at taverns, clubs, corner bars and family celebrations across Wisconsin.
 
The popular story of how making an old-fashioned cocktail with brandy instead of whiskey began attributes it to the 1893 Chicago World's Fair when the recently opened Korbel winery offered free samples of their wine and brandy. Central European immigrants from Milwaukee took a liking to the Bohemian-born Korbel Brothers' Brandy  and brought it back to their home state and began using it in cocktails.
 
In January 2020, drinks journal Drinks International reported the Old Fashioned to be the top selling classic cocktail internationally, for the 6th straight year, based on its annual, global poll of 100 bars.
 
Prep time:  5 minutes
Yield:  1 cocktail
 
Ingredients 
1 sugar cube
3 dashes Angostura bitters
2 orange slices, divided
3 maraschino cherries, divided
2 fluid ounces inexpensive brandy
2 or 3 ounces lemon lime soda, as needed
1 splash maraschino cherry juice (optional)
 
Directions

1. Place sugar cube in a rocks glass, and saturate with bitters. Add 1 orange slice and 1 cherry. Muddle gently until sugar is dissolved.
2. Fill glass with ice cubes. Add brandy, and top with lemon-lime soda and cherry juice, if using. Gently stir, then garnish with remaining orange slice and cherries.

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ChefSecret:  Wisconsin bars like adding a splash of the maraschino cherry juice (about a bar spoon) for a little extra sweetness.
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Quip of the Day:  To relieve stress, Joan does yoga. Just kidding, Joan drinks Old-Fashioned cocktails in her yoga pants.
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We also have 1,000 archived Covid Era recipes that you can easily access using this link https://www.perspectives-la.com/Covid-19-Survival-Guide. Use the search box above our pictures to find what you’re looking for.
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