The toast for this trilogy comes by way of an American classic. The cocktail, no matter what the historians have to say on the matter, is surely an American invention. Without a doubt we certainly popularized the concept, which had its heyday in pre-prohibition New York and other cities. Fine cocktails only recovered from Prohibition’s lasting effects quite recently, around the turn of this century. A small bar in lower Manhattan named Milk and Honey was one of the pioneering establishments that quietly led the cocktail renaissance by reviving lost recipes and insisting on high standards and quality ingredients, thank to its legendary proprietor Sasha Petraske.

Milk and Honey alumni Richard Boccato and Michael McIlroy have both independently created many well known modern classic cocktails. While working together at Little Branch, Sasha Petraske’s follow up bar to Milk and Honey, they came up with this American homage to the original classic cocktail, the Old Fashioned. Featuring three distinctly American ingredients, their American Trilogy is a subtle twist on the theme. Rye whiskey, which by law must be made with at least 51% rye grain in the mash, was the predominant type of whiskey consumed in the pre-prohibition era. Applejack, a type of apple brandy mixed with neutral grain spirit, is one of America’s oldest spirits, popularized by America’s oldest distillery. It doesn’t get any more American that this. The orange bitters bring the drink back into the modern American cocktail era. They were developed from an old recipe from Charles Baker, Jr. by beloved mixologist Gary Regan. Stir one up (Gary “Gaz” Regan was famous for using his index finger to stir!) and open up a good book this week. Cheers!

American Trilogy by Richard Boccato and Michael McIlroy

1 oz rye

1 oz Applejack, bonded

1 brown sugar cube

2 dashes Regan’s orange bitters

Muddle the sugar cube and bitters in the bottom of an Old Fashioned glass. Add the whiskeys and ice and garnish with a strip of orange peel fashioned into a bookmark.

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