Old Fashioned Week: the perfect opportunity to (re)discover one of the world’s most famous cocktails

Bourbon, a little sugar, cocktail bitters and ice; the Old Fashioned is a classic that has been bringing us pleasure for years. The Old Fashioned recipe may be more than 150 years old, but the cocktail itself is far from outdated. During Old Fashioned Week, Woodford Reserve joins forces with the best bars in the Netherlands to let beginner whiskey drinkers and loyal enthusiasts (re)discover one of the world’s most famous cocktails.

The Old Fashioned is one of the oldest drinks in cocktail history. It could already be found in the very first cocktail book in 1862, The Bartender’s Guide by legend Jerry Thomas. Although Thomas simply called it ‘Whiskey Cocktail’ at the time. The precise recipe can be debated endlessly. Sugar or sugar syrup? Mixing in the glass or in a stirring glass? Rye or bourbon?

Old Fashioned at the best bars in the Netherlands

Woodford Reserve Old Fashioned Week is the moment when both whiskey enthusiasts and beginner whiskey drinkers can (re)discover the Old Fashioned. From 12–19 November, Woodford Reserve Old Fashioned Week returns to the Netherlands: a week dedicated to ordering an (alternative) Old Fashioned. Discover innovative twists on the classic or try the original recipe at the best bars in the Netherlands. Pulitzer’s Bar, The Flying Dutchmen Cocktails, Botanero, Dorian, Door 74, Lotti’s, Barbue, Fitz’s Bar, Axis Hilton and Sins of Sal, among others, serve the classic and give the Old Fashioned a fresh new take. Here you can find the participating bars near you.

The perfect Old Fashioned

Ready to get started yourself? On 12 November, you’ll learn how to make the perfect Old Fashioned at Lotti’s and taste how small adjustments to the recipe can create an entirely new flavour. If you’d rather drink than stir, head to Flying Dutchmen Cocktails on 15 November for the bar takeover by Swift London. A day later, on 16 November, the most famous front door in Amsterdam’s bar scene turns red for a bar takeover by Little Red Door Paris, cocktail bar number 6 on the prestigious ’50 Best Bars’ list worldwide, at speakeasy Door 74.

Those who want to end this Old Fashioned Week with a bang can join Sins of Sal on Sunday 20 November, where the internationally acclaimed bar and restaurant Kink from Berlin will bring the week to a festive close.

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