Not So Old Fashioned

NOT SO OLD FASHIONED

We don’t tend to think of Highland Park as a cocktail ingredient as we don’t want to mask its unique flavours, but in a classic serve – where Highland Park is the hero and its flavours are amplified – it’s the perfect base. Enter the classic Old Fashioned… but with a contemporary twist.

Each of our core whiskies has its own key flavour profile, underpinned by our trademark smoky sweetness, so we’ve created three bespoke Old Fashioned recipes to bring those flavours to the fore for MAGNUS and 10 Year Old VIKING SCARS, for 12 Year Old VIKING HONOUR and for 18 Year Old VIKING PRIDE. You can follow the links below to see short videos of each of these serves being prepared and, to whet your appetite, here’s how to make a Salted Honey Old Fashioned with our classic 12 Year Old…  

Salted Honey Old Fashioned

12 Year Old VIKING HONOUR is the heart and soul of Highland Park and this serve emphasises its salty, heather honey notes.

INGREDIENTS

50ml 12 Year Old VIKING HONOUR

10ml honey syrup (made using equal measures of honey and water)

Pinch of smoked sea salt

Dash of orange bitters

Dash of Angostura bitters

METHOD

Stir all the ingredients in a mixing glass and strain over fresh ice. Garnish with an orange twist.  

Check out the videos below for inspiration on how to create an Old Fashioned with your favourite Highland Park:

GINGER AND VANILLA OLD FASHIONED

SALTED HONEY OLD FASHIONED

CHERRY AND CHOCOLATE OLD FASHIONED

Some good old-fashioned facts…

-As early as 1806, the ‘cocktail’ was defined as ‘spirits of any kind, bitters, sugar and water’.

-After Prohibition, fruit and sugar were added to the ‘Whisky Cocktail’ to hide the poor quality of the spirit, and, as the years went by, this evolved into a sweet and fruity drink that relied heavily on the availability of liqueurs, exotic ingredients and a variety of bitters.

-Eventually there was a return to a Whisky Cocktail made ‘in the old fashioned way’ – no nonsense, no additional flavours, just whisky, bitters, sugar and water.

-The classic ‘Old Fashioned’ was born and it’s not only the oldest cocktail on record, it’s one of the few that stays true to its base spirit. -Today, an Old Fashioned is the most requested serve in 30% of the top 50 bars in the world.