Celebrating Old Fashioned Week with Woodford Reserve

November 10, 2020
Food and Drink, Lifestyle

Old Fashioned Week is an annual 10-day celebration of the cocktail considered to be the father of all cocktails, the iconic Old Fashioned. Launched in Paris in 2015, Old Fashioned Week has evolved into a global event that gives bartenders and mixologists the opportunity to showcase their creativity while educating patrons on the intricacies involved in mastering this authentic craft cocktail.

This year Old Fashioned week was celebrated from the 30th October to the 10th of November.

On 6th November 2020 Prestige Magazine joined RGBC (The Really Great Brand Company) to experience a taste of style and history. In South Africa, Old Fashioned Week was celebrated in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban. In each city seven restaurants’ barmen were tasked with creating an unforgettable Old Fashioned cocktail for judges. Three judges in each region were trusted to pick the winner of the challenge (to be announced soon).

It is believed that the Old Fashioned whiskey cocktails’ sweet, strong and citrus taste dates back to the 1800’s when E. Pepper, bartender and esteemed bourbon aristocrat, invented the drink in Louisville, although at the time it was simply called a Whiskey Cocktail. The name was changed after it was called “The Old Fashioned” in the Chicago Tribune.

Traditionally, ‘the old-fashioned way’ was to take a whiskey glass and add a lump of sugar, dissolving it with a small amount of water. The bartender would then add two dashes of bitters, a lump of ice and a miniature bar spoon. They would then hand it to the customer, along with a bottle of bourbon, and allow them to pour their own drink. For many years bartenders around the globe have placed their own twist on the classic cocktail.

The “Old Fashioned” remains one of the most popular drink orders in the world, named the Number 1 Best-Selling Cocktails of 2020 by Drinks International.

Do not let the name fool you, this Old Fashioned whiskey cocktail is still very young at heart.