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All cocktails Improved Whiskey

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Improved Whiskey

Classic/vintage · Nightcap/sipping · Short and stirred

4.5 139 ratings

Ingredients

1 oz Rye whiskey 50% abv
1 oz Bourbon whiskey
1/6 oz Maraschino liqueur
1/12 oz Absinthe
1/4 oz Gomme syrup
1 dash Boker's style bitters

How to make

Serve in a old-fashioned glass

Prepare

  1. 1 Select and pre-chill an OLD-FASHIONED GLASS.
  2. 2 Prepare garnish of lemon zest twist.

Method

  1. 3 STIR all ingredients with ice.
  2. 4 STRAIN into ice-filled glass (preferably over a large cube or chunk of block ice).

Garnish

  1. 5 EXPRESS lemon zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Flavour profile

50.0% alc./vol. · 1.8 standard drinks · 182 calories

History

An Old-Fashioned variation featuring maraschino liqueur and absinthe.

Jerry Thomas's 1876 publication, *The Bar-tender's Guide*, featured both the Whiskey Cocktail and its "Improved" variant. The same text also presented "Improved" renditions of the Brandy Cocktail and Gin Cocktail, which are recognized today as Old Fashioned cocktails. Jerry Thomas stated that these were "improved by moistening the edge of the cocktail glass with a piece of lemon." These "improved" American cocktails of the era were additionally notable for their inclusion of European components, specifically maraschino liqueur and/or absinthe. "109. Whiskey Cocktail. (Use small bar glass.) 3 or 4 dashes of gum syrup. 2 do. Bitters (Bogart's). 1 wine-glass of whiskey, and a piece of lemon peel. Fill one-third full of fine ice; shake and strain in a fancy red wine-glass." "241. Improved Brandy Cocktail. (Use ordinary bar glass.) 2 dashes Boker's (or Angostura) Bitters 3 do. gum syrup. 2 do. Maraschino. 1 dash Absinthe. 1 small piece of the yellow rind of a lemon, twisted to express the oil. 1 small wineglass of brandy. Fill glass one-third full of shaved ice, shake well, and strain into a fancy cocktail glass. The favor is improved by moistening the edge of the cocktail glass with a piece of lemon." "242. Improved Whiskey Cocktail. Prepared in the same manner as the Improved Brandy Cocktail, by substituting whiskey for the brandy."