Comfort is often sought in the familiar: sitcom reruns, well-worn books, family recipes, even an old relationship. Just as something from our past can act as a balm when the future feels uncertain, so, too, can a classic cocktail.
Reaching into the drink archives doesn’t have to be solely rooted in nostalgia, it can also open the door to simple, adaptable, established recipes, ideal at a time when stocking up on new bottles isn’t always easy.
One such recipe is the old-fashioned, one of the oldest drinks in the cocktail canon. Correctly composed, it’s strong and sweet without being too much of either. And, perhaps most important for the time we are in, it’s impressively malleable.
For example, don’t have bourbon or rye? Allison Kave, a founder of Butter & Scotch in Brooklyn, swaps in brandy. “It’s not quite as aggressive as whiskey in an old-fashioned,” she said. “There’s something a lot lighter about it in flavor and in mouthfeel.”
No brandy? Reach for an aged rum or even gin. Or add a mix of tequila and mezcal. And use whichever bitters you have: Angostura, orange or otherwise. Needless to say, a rye old-fashioned and a rum old-fashioned taste quite different, but both work. The beauty of the old-fashioned is to use and appreciate what you have, let the rest go.
Another drink that reaches back just decades rather than centuries, but is still vastly adaptable is the Cosmopolitan. Created by Toby Cecchini in New York City in the late 1980s, the lightly pink, vodka-based cocktail enjoyed brief, regional popularity before it became inextricably tied to “Sex and the City.” Don’t let that undermine its potential for current-day glory. As Ina Garten recently reminded us, when a video of her, clad in her signature navy button-down and mixing up a pitcher, went viral, the sweet-tart Cosmopolitan has its place, whether in a martini glass the size of your head, as in Ina’s case, or whatever is still clean in the cupboard. If your bar — or freezer — is lacking in vodka, put gin or tequila to work. No cranberry juice? Ms. Kave uses a tiny bit of pomegranate molasses or dilutes a bit of raspberry jam with water to make a syrup.
One thing holds in these trying times, if it’s nearing cocktail hour and you’re drinking, go simple and go easy — mostly on yourself.