The film:
The dish:
The reason:
Before he was the President who emancipated slaves, Abraham Lincoln was a small child born into a log cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky.
What follows is a drink that’s more appropriate for the man than the boy. It’s one that accords with Euclid’s first common notion; ‘things which are equal to the same things are equal to each other’. This is a truth which is self evident.
So while you may wish to pour your Old Fashioned with a hand as free as your heart, a sweeter result will come from ensuring judiciously equal quantities of your two primary liquids.
The first part of the beverage is bourbon – from the great state of Kentucky, please. The second, controversially for something as stiff as an Old Fashioned is apple juice. Yes, this involves an amendment. But while the President may not have felt like going to Ford’s Theatre, or fighting with his wife, he was said to be very fond of was apple pie. In fact, it’s rumoured that the phrase ‘As American as….’ was first coined by the great storyteller himself. And surely this is a man who deserves a drink.
For the best results take a few days to infuse the bourbon with spices and slices of red apple so you can taste the pie in every sip. Sweeten the deal with good quality juice. Then add a dash of bitters. Because as much as you’d like to be able to serve a cocktail with malice toward none and charity to all, true change isn’t something that will come easy. Just ask the President.
The way:
Apple Pie Old Fashioned
Nb, while this quantity makes enough Apple Pie Bourbon for 10-12 Old Fashioneds, the below measures are per drink.
Ingredients:
Apple Pie Bourbon
1 red apple, chopped into 16ths
2 cinnamon quills
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 strip of lemon rind
500 ml Kentucky Bourbon
1 pinch of sugar
Method
Combine all the ingredients in a clean container with a lid. Place the lid on and leave to steep somewhere cool and in the dark for at least four days. Strain before serving.
Apple Pie Old Fashioned
Makes one cocktail
Ingredients
3 cubes of ice
2 shots of Apple Pie Bourbon (more if you fancy something stronger)
2 shots of apple juice
1 cinnamon quill
1 strip of apple skin
1 cherry
1 dash of bitters.
Method
1. Muddle together the bourbon and apple juice and pour over ice. Add a dash of bitters. Serve with the cinnamon quill and a garnish of cherry and apple skin.
Reviews:
For an excellent review of Lincoln go here
