Indian Spiced Old Fashioned

Old Overholt rye, aromatic spices, bitters, Lagavulin mist

Craft cocktails on the bar at The Drunken Munkey

The Old Fashioned is less a cocktail than the definition of one. When an American newspaper first set the word down in 1806, the thing it described was spirit, sugar, water and bitters. Four elements, nothing else. Everything since has been elaboration, and asking for a drink made the old-fashioned way is asking to go back to those four.

So it is a template, and a template invites an argument. Ours is that the four elements travel: keep the structure exactly where it is and change the accent.

Rye, not bourbon

The spirit stays American. Old Overholt is a straight rye with a peppery spine, and rye matters here in a way bourbon would not — the extra sweetness would soften the drink at precisely the point it should stay upright. The spice meets that pepper instead of fighting it, which is the reason the drink works rather than merely sounding like it should.

Aromatic spice and bitters do the rest, stirred down over ice rather than shaken. Stirring is not fussiness. Shaking aerates and clouds a drink, and a spirit-forward glass wants to stay clear and heavy; the only water in it should be the water it earns from the ice.

The smoke on top

Then the finish, which is also the theatre: a mist of Lagavulin sprayed across the surface as it goes out. Islay whisky is peated, and peat smoke reaches you well before the glass does. Most of what we call taste is smell, so a drink that arrives smelling of woodsmoke has half happened already. The smoke sits on top rather than in it and fades across the glass, which means the last mouthful is not quite the drink the first one was.

It is one of the two we are known for, the House Paanch being the other. It has no strong opinions about whether it belongs before dinner or after.

“I love the Goan Pork Vindaloo and Indian spiced Old Fashioned.”

— Guest review, Yelp

The guest who left that note had the ‘Portu-Goan’ Pork Vindaloo with it.

Dietary & spice

A cocktail rather than a dish, so it is not on the kitchen’s allergy menu, which covers the food. If you have an allergy, tell the bartender before you order. Not drinking? The bar pours zero-proof cocktails, lassis and fresh coconut water.

Good to know

What is in the Indian Spiced Old Fashioned? +

Old Overholt rye, aromatic spices, bitters, and a mist of Lagavulin sprayed across the surface as it goes out. It is stirred down over ice rather than shaken.

Is it smoky? +

On the nose, yes. The Lagavulin mist sits on top of the drink rather than in it, and Islay whisky is peated, so the smoke reaches you before the glass does. It fades across the glass, which means the last mouthful is not quite the drink the first one was.

Why rye instead of bourbon? +

Old Overholt is a straight rye with a peppery spine, and the spice meets that pepper instead of fighting it. Bourbon’s extra sweetness would soften the drink at precisely the point it should stay upright.

Is it a before-dinner or after-dinner drink? +

Either. It has no strong opinions about whether it belongs before dinner or after. There are ten seats at the bar if you want it before you sit down, and the full menu is served there too.

Is there a non-alcoholic version? +

Zero-proof cocktails, lassis and fresh coconut water are all on the list. Ask the bartender.

Pull up a stool

Indian Spiced Old Fashioned.

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