Brandy OLD FASHIONED
The Brandy Old Fashioned: Wisconsin's Post-WWII State Cocktail
The brandy old fashioned was named Wisconsin's state cocktail in 2023 due to the popularity of the cocktail when made with brandy in the state Wikipedia. While a popular story attributes Wisconsin's brandy preference to the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago where Korbel brothers showcased their brandy, historical research reveals a different origin.
Author Jeanette Hurt discovered that in 1894 there was a cocktail revolution in Milwaukee among young German men, and one popular cocktail was "the Old Fashioned," but it was made with whiskey like everywhere else WUWM. The switch to brandy came much later.
After World War II, many distilleries had shut down to send grain overseas, resulting in bad whiskey and rum. Wisconsin distributors discovered a cache of 30,000 cases of well-aged Christian Brothers Brandy Spectrum News. When faced with choosing between bad whiskey or good brandy, rotgut rum or good brandy, Wisconsinites chose brandy, and people started drinking their cocktails with brandy WUWM.
The Wisconsin version differs from the classic Old Fashioned by muddling fruit (orange slice and cherry) with sugar and bitters, then adding brandy and topping with soda water. In Wisconsin, an "old fashioned, sweet" is made with lemon-lime soda, and "old fashioned, sour" is made with grapefruit soda Wikipedia.
RECIPE:
1 orange slice
1 maraschino cherry
1 sugar cube
2-3 dashes Angostura bitters
2 oz brandy
Lemon-lime soda or club soda to top
Additional orange slice and cherry for garnish
Method:
Muddle orange slice, cherry, sugar cube, and bitters in rocks glass
Fill glass with ice
Add brandy
Top with soda (sweet) or club soda (sour)
Stir gently
Garnish with orange slice and cherry