[3][4] An old fashioned was one of the simpler and earlier versions of cocktails, before the development of advanced bartending techniques and recipes in the later part of the 19th century.

Alexander describes the cocktail similarly in 1833, as he encountered it in New York City, as being rum, gin, or brandy, significant water, bitters, and sugar, though he includes a nutmeg garnish as well.

The recipe he describes is a similar combination of spirits, bitters, water, and sugar of seventy-six years earlier.

This attribution is due to Albert Stevens Crockett of the Waldorf-Astoria, writing in the 1930s:[8][9][10] Cocktails Old-Fashioned Whiskey

This was brought to the old Waldorf in the days of its “sit-down” Bar, and introduced by, or in honor of, Col. James E. Pepper, of Kentucky, proprietor of a celebrated whiskey of the period.

Cocktail historians also reject this claim – Robert Simonson rejects it,[11] and David Wondrich rejects this origin story as a "myth", writing:[3][10] Since the Chicago Daily Tribune was already discussing ‘old fashioned cocktails’ in February of 1880 and the Pendennis Club wasn’t founded until 1881, I think it’s safe to pronounce this myth busted.The popular story of how making an old-fashioned cocktail with brandy instead of whiskey began attributes it to the Chicago World's Fair in 1893, when the recently opened Korbel winery offered samples of their wine and brandy.

Central European immigrants from Milwaukee took a liking to the Bohemian-born Korbel brothers' brandy, and brought it back to their home state and began using it in cocktails.

[citation needed] Early cocktails primarily used Holland gin or brandy, and did not use ice;[16] they consisted of spirit, water, sugar, and bitters, often garnished with a grating of nutmeg.

By the time "old-fashioned cocktails" started to be referred to in the 1880s, this still referred to various spirits – a whiskey version was called an "old fashioned whiskey cocktail" – but specified a lump of sugar, rather than syrup, building in the glass, and sometimes left a spoon in the glass, to stir or eat the partially undissolved sugar.

The whiskey old fashioned recipe specifies the following (with a jigger being 2 US fluid ounces or 59 millilitres):[23] Dissolve a small lump of sugar with a little water in a whiskey-glass; add two dashes Angostura bitters, a small piece ice, a piece lemon-peel, one jigger whiskey.

Mix with small bar-spoon and serve, leaving spoon in the glass.By the 1860s, as illustrated by Jerry Thomas's 1862 book, basic cocktail recipes included Curaçao or other liqueurs.

[3] Gin Cocktail Use small bar glass 3 or 4 dashes of gum syrup 2 do [dashes] bitters Bogart's 1 wine glass of gin 1 or 2 dashes of Curaçao 1 small piece lemon peel fill one-third full of fine ice shake well and strain in a glass[24] Old Fashioned Holland Gin Cocktail Crush a small lump of sugar in a whiskey glass containing a little water, add a lump of ice, two dashes of Angostura bitters, a small piece of lemon peel, one jigger Holland gin.

In 1905, the Hoffman House Old Fashioned Whiskey Cocktail included an orange slice,[25][19] though this was absent from other recipes.

[26][27] A book by David Embury published in 1948 provides a slight variation, specifying 12 parts American whiskey, 1 part simple syrup, 1–3 dashes Angostura bitters, a twist of lemon peel over the top, and serve garnished with the lemon peel.

[30] Common garnishes for an old fashioned include an orange slice or a maraschino cherry or both,[30] although these modifications came around 1930, some time after the original recipe was invented.

[38] The old fashioned is the cocktail of choice of Don Draper, the lead character on the Mad Men television series, set in the 1960s.