This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Don Q rum. All opinions are 100% mine.
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RECIPES | The Old Fashioned as we know it today is actually one of the first ever cocktails. The word ‘cocktail’, as used in reference to an alcoholic beverage, first appeared in The Balance and Columbian Repository (Hudson, New York) May 13, 1806 as “…a stimulating liquor, composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water, and bitters.”
By the late 19th century, all kinds of cocktails had become popular, hence the use of the term “Old Fashioned” to refer to the original cocktail made the old-fashioned way. While the most common spirit associated with the drink today is bourbon or whisky, you can in fact use any kind of spirit you want to make an Old Fashioned. We like to use a dark, aged rum for a smooth, slightly sweet drink.
A good one to use is Don Q Gran Añejo Rum. It contains rums aged between 9 and 12 years, and Solera rums aged up to 50 years, creating a balance between sweet and dry that works well with the cocktail’s other ingredients (it’s also very nice drunk neat or on the rocks). Think a deep complex nose of molasses, cigar tobacco and dark caramel with notes of vanilla, cinnamon and honey.
Don Q is a Puerto Rican rum produced by Destilería Serrallés, one of the oldest family owned companies in the Americas. The Serrallés family migrated from Catalonia to Puerto Rico in the mid-1830s, and started making rum in 1865. Today, Don Q rum is the most popular rum in Puerto Rico and one of the most popular rum brands in the Americas.
Don Q rum is distilled in a continuous still from sugar cane, along with molasses, water, mash, and yeast. Apart from tasting great, like Don Q Gran Añejo Rum because of Destilería Serrallés environmental credentials. They aim for zero water waste by recycling all of the runoff from the distilling process. The two-stage process involves an anaerobic system, removing about 60% of the organic content (and producing methane, used as a biofuel), and an aerobic process to polish off the other 40%, producing clean water. No waste water is dumped into the ocean.
Here’s the recipe so you can make the rum old fashioned at home, and a list of places where you can buy Don Q Gran Añejo Rum. ¡Salud!
Preparation Time: 5 minutes / Cooking Time: n/a / Serves 1
Ingredients
- 2oz (60ml) Don Q Gran Añejo Rum
- 3 dashes Angostura bitters
- 1 sugar cube or ½ tsp sugar
- one orange peel
- one maraschino cherry
Method
- Place the sugar cube (or ½ tsp sugar) in old fashioned glass.
- Add three dashes of bitters. Muddle the mixture, then swirl to coat the inside of the glass.
- Add the rum and stir. Add ice and stir again until well chilled
- Garnish with orange peel and maraschino cherry.
Notes
Try using different kinds of bitters in your old fashioned to see how the flavor profile changes with just a few dashes of something different.