A Pecan Old Fashioned is one of the easiest cocktails you can make, which is fitting considering today is National Simplicity Day. Yes, that’s a real fake thing. It also happens to be National Pecan Pie day, which is more to the point. Let’s drink dessert!
An Old Fashioned is just sugar, water, bitters, and booze. It’s that simple. Sure, people get creative with fancy syrups, muddled fruit, or crazy bitters, but at it’s core it’s as basic as White Girl Rosé.
People often think that the name Old Fashioned is a reference to the late 1800’s when this drink was most popular, but in reality it’s those people in the late 1800’s referring to the early 1800’s, before bartenders started adding things like sweet vermouth to make it a Manhattan or other liqueurs. That’s the inspiration for the quote tweeted below. It turns out that at any given time people want things the way they used to be.
“The Old Fashioned is proof that people were pining for the good old days even in the good old days” @cocktailchron pic.twitter.com/oNXiSfbhhh
— Colin Joliat (@Boozist) February 27, 2016
In the spirit of Simplicity Day, I wanted to make this Pecan Old Fashioned cocktail as easy as possible. Instead of infusing, muddling, or teabagging my nuts in whiskey… I just bought it that way. Can’t find an easier option than that.
Be warned, the bourbon is sweet. If you hate sweet cocktails, you’ll want to cut the sugar even more than I already have… possibly down to zero, like Captain Planet. It’s also only 60-proof, so you might consider just taking Pecan Old Fashioned shots instead.
Pecan Old Fashioned
- 2oz William Wolf pecan bourbon
- 4 dashes Angostura bitters
- 1/8 tsp sugar
Add sugar and bitters to Old Fashioned glass and stir until dissolved.
Add ice to glass. Add whiskey to glass. Drink. Repeat.