With the last season of Mad Men debuting this past week, it’s only appropriate to send off the series with a good, stiff drink. We asked Scott Turbull, sommelier and beverage manager at the six-time Michelin-star rated Solbar at Solage Calistoga in the heart of California’s wine country for a drink recipe that’ll help us say goodbye to our favorite ad men, and he gave us a classic: the Old Fashioned.
“It is something that we have seen Don Draper order many times, which has helped reintroduce this classic cocktail to a new generation,” Turnbull says. “In addition to being a classic, it’s delicious, and something that should be part of everyone’s repertoire.”
Eschewing the countless variations, Turnbull keeps his Old Fashions simple – the classic proportions and a measured squeeze of the orange, rather than pulverization.
“The key is to simply squeeze the juice from the orange slices,” he says. “Grinding the orange and cherry into an unattractive paste will only make your drink cloudy and overly bitter.”
Mad Men Old Fashioned from Solbar
Ingredients
1 1/2 oz. Rittenhouse Rye
1 sugar cube
1/2 lateral (wheel) slice of orange, cut into 2 quarters
Angostura bitters
Orange twist
Luxardo Cherries
Directions: Place sugar cube in bottom of mixing glass. Shake one to two dashes of bitters onto sugar cube. Use Muddler to crush up and mix the sugar cube and bitters. Add orange slices, use muddler to squeeze juice out of slices, do not pulverize peel. Add rye, then add ice, and stir to chill. Strain into chilled ice filled rocks glass. Garnish with orange twist and cherries on a pick (see photo for fancy construction).
Drink slowly, while thinking of the secrets you keep.
