The NegrOld Fashioned

The Tumbler box could really be toasted with just about any cocktail, as long as it’s served in a glass … tumbler. The word has many meanings and one of them is a container for liquid – a glass. Some suggest that in the seventeenth century there were drinking vessels with rounded bottoms known as tumblers, for obvious reasons, as they would tumble over if put down. That just seems like a terrible design to me but must have kept the party going. Let’s select an appropriate glass for this toast to the Tumbler – perhaps, an Old Fashioned glass. In this case, the tumbler is named after the cocktail that typically goes into it. And why buck convention? An Old Fashioned it is, coming right up.

Higher proof rye stands up well to the bittersweet syrup

I’ve written about the history of the Old Fashioned before, many times. Most consider it to be the original cocktail, with its combination of spirit, sugar, water and bitters, that developed naturally during the era of bespoke apothecary elixirs. The name of the drink certainly implies it has been around for a while. The term “cocktail” is another story altogether, and quite sordid and fun. But I digress. Here’s a truly unique Old fashioned I created to complement this truly unique puzzle box. It was recently “Negroni Week”, an annual global charitable event sponsored by the trade magazine Imbibe and Campari. I made a Negroni Old Fashioned by creating a syrup from a Negroni, and using it as the sweetener in an Old Fashioned. It’s incredibly delicious. I don’t know why no one has thought of this before but sometimes you have to look at what you’ve got on hand and simply create something wonderful that no one has thought to do before. I’m looking at you, Eric Stevens. Cheers!

An original pair

NegrOld Fashioned

2 oz rye whiskey

½ oz Negroni syrup

2 dashes aromatic bitters

Stir ingredients with ice and strain into a favorite tumbler. Orange twist.

For the syrup: add an equal amount of sugar (about 6 tbs) to 1 ounce each gin, sweet vermouth and Campari together in a sauce pan and simmer to melt the sugar and thicken the liquid until syrupy.

Celebrate with a Negroni or variation, and make a donation to help the hospitality industry.

Visit Negroniweek.com