I fiddled with the antenna in this Old TV set for awhile and finally managed to tune in to a broadcast. I guess Old TVs only show old TV shows, because all it would play was a black and white Old West drama called Gunsmoke. It turns out that Gunsmoke was one of the most popular shows of its era, running for twenty seasons from 1955 to 1975. It originated, like many of the original television shows, as a radio drama, which first aired in 1952, and is well regarded as one of the best radio series of all time. The show was notable for its gritty subject matter, set in a real world where the hero often got there too late, and the bad guys got away.

We can contemplate the old days and toast this Old TV with a tasty whiskey sour from High West Distillery. In 2006, High West, an American distillery in Park City, became Utah’s first legal distillery since 1870. They make award winning and highly sought after limited-edition releases along with their excellent line of bourbons and ryes. This recipe, from their national brand ambassador and in-house bartender Josh Novaski, calls for bourbon - I used their Campfire Whiskey, a blend of scotch, bourbon and rye which they describe as “floral, fruity, bright and spicy, caramel, butterscotch, light smoke and smoldering wood from a campfire the morning after, jasmine, chai tea, sandalwood, leather, tobacco, pine resin and toasted bread” on the nose, with “vanilla, honey, toffee with some nice fruit, blueberries and black cherries, chai spices - nutmeg, cinnamon, orange zest, salty caramels, tobacco, gentle smoke, spicy gingerbread with blackstrap molasses and toasted marshmallow” on the palate. If I can taste just a quarter of all that it still sounds amazing. They just don’t make ‘em like they used to in the Olde Dayes, do they? Or, perhaps they do. Cheers!

Gunsmoke by High West

1 ½ oz High West bourbon

¼ oz Amaro Nonino

Barspoon mezcal

¾ oz lemon

½ oz grapefruit

½ oz cinnamon syrup

Shake ingredients with ice and strain into an Old Fashioned glass. Grapefruit twist.

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