We get pretty snooty ’round these parts when it comes to the venerated Old Fashioned, the ur-cocktail and the subject of more than a century of ill-thought changes. Everything from muddled fruit to lemon-lime soda seems to end up in an “Old Fashioned” these days, and we here at Cocktail Party are holding the line for the real thing: sugar, bitters, and spirit. Nothing more, nothing less.
But deep in America’s heartland, these Frankenstein-fashioned concoctions took root and began to grow into something truly beloved. Enter the Wisconsin Old Fashioned, the state’s unofficial-official cocktail. It takes all those newfangled substitutions and, with a deft hand, turns them into a balanced, drinkable cocktail. Not a “proper” Old Fashioned, of course, but something genuinely delicious in its own right.
A sugar cube is the classic sweetener, but you can use an equivalent amount of granulated sugar or simple syrup if you prefer. And while 7-Up or Sprite are the traditional toppers, you could use seltzer, club soda, or even a flavored sparkling water like lemon LaCroix (another local Wisconsin treasure).
