Cocktails go old fashioned, without the jolt

This time of year brings scores of pitches from public relations firms and publicists touting St. Patrick’s Day specials at local restaurants, tips on how to make foods green — from cupcakes to salad dressing — and cocktails that are heavy on Bailey’s and light on just about everything else.

But as St. Patrick’s Day nears, I’m predicting the arrival of a different kind of lucky charm: the return of whiskey in contemporary cocktails. I hate to brag, but I predicted the renaissance of gin, too (sure, my forecast was almost 10 years too early, but that’s hardly reason to hedge bets against me now). These days, gin is so hot it’s passe.

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A blood orange old fashioned at Room restaurant in Twelve at Centennial Olympic Park looks enticing.

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Brown liquor is beginning to nudge a nose ahead in popularity. Irish and American whiskeys, including rye and bourbon, are getting mixed together in rich, luxurious drinks that resemble the classic old fashioned: bourbon whiskey with muddled cherries and orange slices, mixed with a sugar cube and a dash or two of bitters.

In the course of dining for recent reviews, I’ve noticed a dramatic increase in attention to this kind of drink. At Market, the barkeep offers a rye drink, called a “maple rye,” that’s a smooth blend of Rittenhouse rye whiskey, maple syrup and muddled oranges in a small rocks glass with cranberries as garnish. This thing goes down like an ice cream sundae with a side of hot sauce, only smoother, of course. And a bit more satisfying: brown liquor when mixed with something sweet takes on a purpose derived from its artisanal origins — it warms, settles and finally lulls you into a physical state just this side of pleasantville. Which is why one is plenty and two is too much.

“The resurgence in whiskey-inspired cocktails such as the old fashioned has to do with the public’s demand for more artisanal, old fashioned drinks,” explains Craft Atlanta’s general manager and beverage director Leo Barrera. “It’s also part of the ‘vodka’ backlash that started with gin — consumers are looking for drinks that have more history, more flavor.”

Craft’s take on the old fashioned is sweeter and fruitier, and doesn’t use whiskey at all — the dark liquor here is a dose of 23-year-old Zacapa rum blended with a modern take on the old fashioned, mixed with orange bitters, brandy-soaked cherries, granulated sugar and an orange slice. The result is a smooth drink that tastes like fruitcake batter, but lacks the jolt whiskey would give it.

And at BLT Steak, the old fashioned perks up with Maker’s Mark, orange liqueur, sweet vermouth, “mashed” cherries and peach-flavored bitters.

“Always carry a flagon of whiskey in case of snakebite and furthermore always carry a small snake,” W.C. Fields was known to say.

I say hold the snake and give me the bite, in the form of whiskey muddled with fruit and served over ice cubes.

Classic Old Fashioned
2 maraschino cherries
2 slices of orange
1 small sugar cube
1 or 2 dashes of Angostura itters

1 teaspoon water
2 ounces rye or bourbon whiskey

Muddle one cherry and one orange slice with the sugar, bitters and water in a chilled old fashioned glass (small rocks). Remove the orange rind. And the whiskey and ice; stir. Garnish with the extra cherry and orange slice.

— From Rob Chirico’s “Field Guide to Cocktails (Quirk Books, 2005)