Booze.

[Samwise]

My family concocts some excellent Old Fashioneds every Christmas Eve, so I dropped my grandpa a line asking for the recipe they use.  Here it is in his words:

Not surprisingly, the quality of the ingredients is as important as the ratios and the procedure.  You want a good quality rye or sourmash bourbon.  It needn't be a mortgage-buster aged in wood for 20 years, but it does need to be respectable.  Wild Turkey Rye, Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon, Maker's Mark Bourbon, and Knob Creek Bourbon are some we have found to give good results.  The other ingredients are sugar or sugar syrup (or, in a variation, honey), Angostura bitters, and ice.

Though we have devised modifications to facilitate serving a crowd, the ordinary approach is to construct each drink individually, and the one tricky part is being sure that the sugar, sugar syrup, or honey really dissolves well in part of the whiskey before adding the cracked ice and mixing in the rest of the whiskey (yes, you could add all the whiskey before putting in any ice, but that can be a bit messy, since there will be less room in the glass and you're more likely to splash contents out).  Embury is a big believer in using simple syrup (not always easy to find ready-made --you could always prepare some in advance, but I'm not sure it's necessarily worth it --you do want syrup made from real sucrose, not something like Karo syrup; honey is a different matter, nice, adds a very subtle extra flavor).  Tricks that help: for sugar, mixing with a very tiny amount of heated water, approx. same volume, as suggested below.  For honey, the same, and in addition pre-warming honey.  What follows is a typical recipe, then the honey variation.

Ingredients for each drink:

Slightly less than 1 teaspoon of sugar
1-2 dashes Angostura bitters (1 dash is said to be 1/6 teaspoon; Angostura bottle delivers 1 dash if shaken once briskly)
2 oz. whiskey
abundant cracked ice
maraschino cherry or thin slice of orange

Put sugar in Old Fashioned glass.  Microwave a little water, then add 1 tsp of it and mix with sugar until mixed entirely or almost so.  Add dash of bitters.  Add half the whiskey, mix untl sugar is completely mixed in.  Add cracked ice (not crushed ice; if you don't have a TapIcer, the back of a hefty spoon works pretty well to crack a cube held in one's hand) to within about a half-inch of the top.  Add the rest of the whiskey.  Mix using mostly up & down motion with teaspoon.  Add cherry with stem &/or on spear (or orange slice).  Enjoy.

Simple syrup will allegedly mix easier.  Maybe a bit.  Sugar concentration in syrup is so high that the volume of syrup needed is only slightly more than if you were using sugar.  Honey is sweeter, so if you use that you need only about a half to two-thirds of a teaspoonful.  I'd pre-warm some so it flows easily and even mix it with a teaspoonful of heated water before adding any whiskey or bitters.

One other thing Embury suggests is a "twist of lemon," which we use for some other drinks but usually skip when making an Old Fashioned.  The "twist" is a strip of just the very thin yellow part of a lemon peel, obtained by using a peeler; it's "twisted" over the drink (or just bent and squeezed) so microdroplets of lemon oil are squeezed out, and then it's dropped into the drink.  (We never omit this in the case of a martini.  And our hybridized recipe for Picon Punch also requires it, with this variation, that the peel is rubbed on the rim [instead of being squeezed over the drink] then dropped in.)

On Christmas we've always had them with cherries as far as I can remember, and I like 'em that way.  I also think I slightly prefer the sugar over the honey variation, but since there are many different types of honeys it might just be that we haven't tried the right one yet.

[Abagadro]

On simple syrup: when I go through phases of making lots of cocktails I mix up a batch (just boil 2 cups of sugar in 2 cups of water until it dissolves) and then put it into a little squeezy bottle I picked up at Bed, Bath and Beyond for a couple of bucks.  It will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks.  Great for making real mojitos.

[Grimwell]

Sam's grandpa rocks. I'll try it his way with and without the cherry/orange and report in. Tonight if my neck does not stop hurting soon. :)

[Pennilenko]

I also think I slightly prefer the sugar over the honey variation, but since there are many different types of honeys it might just be that we haven't tried the right one yet.

Clove honey can be an amazing substitute.

[DraconianOne]

I'm not a huge fan of sucking on muddy peat bogs

Curiously enough, I've just spent the weekend running over the Highlands doing exactly that: stopping at streams to drink the water and wondering why it tasted so familiar until my partner pointed out it was the peat and that it was a whisky taste. Just considerably less alcoholic.

When it comes to Scotch, I'm a fan of Oban, Aberlour and Talisker.  My glugging whiskey of choice is actually Jameson's Irish. I also had the privilege of trying a Jameson's 15 year old and that stuff is liquid platinum in a bottle.

[Oban]

Curiously enough, I've just spent the weekend running over the Highlands doing exactly that: stopping at streams to drink the water and wondering why it tasted so familiar until my partner pointed out it was the peat and that it was a whisky taste. Just considerably less alcoholic.

What a great way to spend a weekend. 

On a related note, what waterborne parasitic infections have you been tested for lately?

[DraconianOne]

On a related note, what waterborne parasitic infections have you been tested for lately?

Meh! Where's your sense of adventure?

[Teleku]

It probably died of an infection.

[Grimwell]

I've posted the current state of my exploration of the Old Fashioned at my virus infected blog if you want to see more. :p

[Yegolev]

Had some 15-year Balvenie.  Very, very nice.  Probably even better than the Founder's Reserve, or at least smoother.

[Mosesandstick]

Tried some Penderyn, supposed to be the only Welsh single malt? Nice drink but fairly undistinctive and light.

[Prospero]

I just had some this weekend and dug it. It's very light, but I really liked the citrus and cinnamon finish.

[Grimwell]

So...

Next week I'll be in Vegas for the SOE Fan Faire. In addition to all the work, I'm taking an extra day to lead in spending time at a pool getting idly tipsy with my wife. I don't want to hammer whiskey drinks in small glasses all day and don't have much experience in poolside drinks with umbrella's in them. Can anyone suggest a few drinks to try that fit the environment of sitting by a pool and don't make me look like I need a skirt? 

[Abagadro]

Gin and Tonic
Mai Tai
Mojito

[Samwise]

If you're going to be in Vegas, go to Red Square (in the Mandelay Bay) some evening.  They have excellent cocktails and an intimidating selection of vodka.

[Sky]

Can anyone suggest a few drinks to try that fit the environment of sitting by a pool and don't make me look like I need a skirt? 

Ice bucket full of Negra Modelos.

Also, plz add fanfaire goodies to my account muhaha. 

[Abagadro]

If you're going to be in Vegas, go to Red Square (in the Mandelay Bay) some evening.  They have excellent cocktails and an intimidating selection of vodka.

Blue cheese stuffed olives too!

[Sheepherder]

I don't want to hammer whiskey drinks in small glasses all day and don't have much experience in poolside drinks with umbrella's in them. Can anyone suggest a few drinks to try that fit the environment of sitting by a pool and don't make me look like I need a skirt? 

Abagadro's first suggestion is a good one.  Also, vodka and orange juice isn't classy, but it does the job.

[Prospero]

Pimm's. Refreshing and manly looking.

[Mosesandstick]

Manly? 

It is a really nice drink though.

[Abagadro]

Whiskey Sour & Mint Julep are also good poolside drinks.

[Oban]

Ok, here is a question for you all.

What is the worst alcohol you have ever tried? 

Not a mixed drink, just a single liquid.

I can not stand Cointreau. 

[Prospero]

Manly? 

It is a really nice drink though.

It just needs to be manly looking. If it doesn't have an umbrella in it, isn't blue/pink/orange, and isn't clearly blended, it looks manly. In Vegas Pimms are plenty manly; no one will know what the fuck it is. Including the bartender.

[Jherad]

Ok, here is a question for you all.

What is the worst alcohol you have ever tried?  

Not a mixed drink, just a single liquid.

I can not stand Cointreau.  

Benedictine liqueur. Ugh. Tastes like cough syrup - and not the good kind.

Edit: Buffalo grass vodka is pretty terrible also. Tasted of soggy field.

[Samwise]

Cynar ranks pretty high up there.

[Mosesandstick]

It just needs to be manly looking. If it doesn't have an umbrella in it, isn't blue/pink/orange, and isn't clearly blended, it looks manly. In Vegas Pimms are plenty manly; no one will know what the fuck it is. Including the bartender.

Hahaha, I stand corrected. Damn clueless yanks.  (I hope you're a brit!)

We won't tell them that it's the drink of choice for Sloanies, especially now they know what those are.

[Yoru]

Ok, here is a question for you all.

What is the worst alcohol you have ever tried?  

Not a mixed drink, just a single liquid.

I can not stand Cointreau.  

Scandinavia has a lock on awful liquor. I've never had so many terrible shots since I came up here.

Gammel Dansk tastes like Jagermeister licked off a Viking locker room floor.

Topas and Opal are akin to mouthwash, swallowed and regurgitated after a long night drinking every kind of fleamarket swill in your liquor cabinet and noshing on licorice.

And then there's Brennivin, the "black death" of Iceland, which has a sharp anise and caraway flavor mixed in with the harshness of cheaply-distilled grain liquor. It's the most utterly unmixable liquor I've ever had the displeasure of experimenting with. Brennivin & Coke, especially, is incredibly vile.

[Sky]

Having been in a band, I've met every stripe of bloke who loves his shitty liquor. Being a bored person in a band, I've tried them all.

I'd say the screwtop wines (MD20-20, Thunderbird, etc) are pretty damned bad. Also, we had a drummer who loved Blackberry "Brandy". Godawful shit, I don't think he understood drinking alcohol didn't have to be like taking your medicine. Maybe that was part of the thing for him, dunno. He was a drummer, after all.

[Yegolev]

I recently tried Johnny Walker and I like it.  Of Black, Red and Blue, I prefer Black.  Blue has some real charm but I'm not sure that charm is worth the price.  Did not try Green or Gold.

[Oban]

Try the Green and the Gold when you get a chance.  For a blend, Gold is not bad if you are unable to get Blue.

To each their own though.

[Grimwell]

I'd say the screwtop wines (MD20-20, Thunderbird, etc) are pretty damned bad. Also, we had a drummer who loved Blackberry "Brandy". Godawful shit

My drinks book from the 30's has a Singapore Sling recipe that calls for blackberry  brandy and uses it well. I was surprised. Even more so when I ordered one at a local  bar and they gave me something with a mix of like 30 sugar based liquors. The old recipe was simple, and better.

[Evildrider]

My friends had a wapatuli barrel for the 4th of July.  Now that's a party.

If you don't know what it is, it's basically a new and cleaned out garbage can filled with lots of alcohol (mainly rum and vodka), chopped up fruit (we mainly use lemons, oranges, and grapefruit), and fruit juices.  You mix the alcohol and the fruit and let it sit overnight keeping it as cold as possible.  Then an hour or so before the party, dump all the fruit juice in and stir it all up. 

[Yegolev]

Try the Green and the Gold when you get a chance.  For a blend, Gold is not bad if you are unable to get Blue.

To each their own though.

Very true.

I was on a cruise and only had a tumbler of each, and not on the same night, so I didn't do a scientific study by any means.  I wasn't planning on doing any experimentation in the first place.  The Red was, hmm, sharp? Not sure of the word; it wasn't really stronger but had more "bite".  Not bad at all but I wasn't in that particular mood.  Blue seemed to have more character than the Black (which was very smooth and even - almost bland but not really) but I didn't care to spend $20 per drink for it.  The real result is that I won't be afraid to buy a bottle of JW once my Balvenie runs out.

wapatuli barrel

Since having become a scotch drinker, that sounds disgusting.  I'd have been all over that in earlier days, though.

[Sky]

My drinks book from the 30's has a Singapore Sling recipe that calls for blackberry  brandy and uses it well.

!=drinking it straight out of a screw-top.

[Grimwell]

Truth. But some booze can't be helped by mixing it. It's just shit. :)

IE: I had a pointless point.