#historic
There are a few things that I really hate: heavy metal, cheaters, and whisky.
Or I used to think so, especially regarding the last one.
I’ve always thought that whisky would have been too strong for me, even if I’m a habitual drinker, even if whisky is everywhere in American movies without any gender distinction, and both men and women have a glass in their hands as soon as they come back home at night.
But the point is that I didn’t know much about whisky neither I wanted to know more about it until I met Simone.
A first date with old fashioned cocktail
It was our first date, it was before the covid era so we were still allowed to go out at night.
We went to a cocktail bar that I had recently discovered and wanted to try: Le vie dei briganti, a speak-easy bar in Bologna.
It was Saturday night, it was late and we were the only two in the place. We seated around the countertop and soon the barman somehow joined our date. It might sound like a total disaster, but it actually was like we had hired him as our personal bartender. He has been taking care of us pouring water flavored with a refreshing slice of cucumber which was perfect in between the cocktails that he was suggesting us to try.
Everything seemed luxurious even if we chose to go safe: I had ordered a gin and tonic and he had ordered an old fashioned cocktail. And even if we had met for the very first time only a few minutes before, Simone immediately asked me if I wanted to taste a sip of his cocktail, lending me his straw.
A very intimate gesture that I found and I still find extremely charming. If I remember well, he also gave me the maraschino cherry on top!
Finally I understood that whisky is not all about pipes and cigars. A sweet aroma glided in my throat and unexpectedly I would have wanted more.
From whisky hater to whisky lover
I start having doubts because from that moment on we got lost in the tales of our lives and in the following drinks, smoothly.
But I had no hesitation about my want to have an old fashioned cocktail to celebrate my 30th birthday last March, an occasion we spent together in the apartment that is now our home. I’ve asked Simone to prepare the first old fashioned of my life, determined in drinking it all, because I was becoming old fashioned, too!
It’s thanks to Simone that I’ve caught the difference between Bourbon and Scotch, and we hope to soon go together around Scotland visiting distilleries. Thanks to Simone, I discovered I go crazy for the bitterness of Angostura, that I love the smell of orange zest and the warm color of the drink itself, ready to be enjoyed.
If you’d like to prepare your own old fashioned at home, we recommend you to watch one of our favorite Youtubers, Greg on his channel “How to drink”:
