“We don’t stock brandy here.”
~ The Unknown Bartender ~
What?
The bartender looked at me as if I asked the stupid question of the day. “Can you make a brandy old fashioned sour with fruit?”
Living in Wisconsin, I take for granted that every bar everywhere will stock brandy or cognac. However, I was thrown into reality while visiting Colorado, at an unnamed restaurant that served a “New Fashioned” on their menu. It contained Woodford Reserve bourbon, some other fancy crap, a oversized ice cube and one floating, non-muddled cherry. All liquor. No mixer. No muddled fruit. No brandy.
Since old fashioned cocktails came back in style, everyone wants to make them different, weird and special. Yes, I know you can have an old fashioned with whiskey (bourbon) because I used to drink a whiskey old fashioned when that was my thing. Now my thing is brandy and I prefer the basics – brandy, bitters, muddled cherries and orange, sour, and 2-3 maraschino cherries on a skewer. My favorite local establishment knows how to do this right.
I don’t need a new fashioned from a Colorado restaurant, thankyouverymuch.
Then again, when it comes to craft beer, you can throw whatever flavor combination you want at me and I will probably try it – even an IPA once in awhile. At least in Colorado, I could count on their microbreweries to excite, disappoint, or bring me somewhere in between. That happens at most microbreweries in any state, but it is to be expected given differing tastebuds.
Enjoy the gallery that contains craft beer samplings from the Goat Patch, Prost, Red Leg and Manitou microbreweries (the flights were always shared because I can’t drink that much beer).
No, I did not take a photo of the bourbon cocktail because ewww…just no.
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Mary J Melange 
I’m not a whiskey drinker of any kind, but I should would enjoy one of those wheat beers.
The wheat beer from Goat Patch was the best of the bunch. The cantaloupe beer, not so much…
Well I enjoyed a chuckle at the expense of the cantaloupe beer. 🙂
Yeah, that was not a keeper.
Why is it that people think ‘new’ is better? It rarely is. If it ain’t broke…
Remember New Coke, Pam? Yeah, that was a big hit…or not. 😏
I refused to even try it!
You were smart. My ex was so mad at the time – he was an avid classic Coke drinker and I didn’t blame him after one taste of the new stuff.
Ah progress er confusion in all its multifaceted glories. It just keeps fermenting in oh so many ways.
I was pretty confused by the lack of brandy, John. They served wine, so why not brandy? I guess I was in the hardware store, asking where they stock the pillows and comforters. :-p
Ah, ‘new fashioned’–because we can always improve something, right? Ugh. No.
Some things can be improved, Lois, but this is not necessarily one of those things. Improve the roads quality of my clothing, but leave the old fashioned alone, please.
Yes. People want to tinker with perfection. There was a point when the only kind of Cheerios were the original plain good ones. Now they come in every sugared and flavored type. I’ve tried them and no – the original is the best. I can imagine you feel the same about your old fashion!
I am amazed, too. No brandy or cognac? That seems very wrong. It’s not like those liquors go bad, they improve with age.
Right, Ally. I am hoping this is an anomaly, that there are bars in Colorado Springs that always stock brandy…because I’ll be going back at some point and may try again for an old fashioned.
I’ve never had an Old Fashion or a new one! I need to try one. The beers look good I’d definitely try those. No brandy or cognac in a bar seems off. 😮
A Wisconsin old fashioned is the best and no bar is complete without at least one bottle of brandy.
😀
A new fashioned even sounds silly 🙃
Right? It tasted silly too.
Obviously you had great flights on this trip. It is hard to understand not having brandy.
Maybe I was in the non-brandy twilight zone. 😏
Sorry you couldn’t get what you wanted. For me, it is the opposite. I always want a true Old Fashioned which is with a sugar cube, good whiskey, a squeeze of orange peel, angosturo bitters and a nice chunk of ice. If they are really good they have drunk cherries. Just simple things we want right?
So true, Cheryl. I’m fairly limited in what I can drink, so when I do, I want the Old Fashioned I’ve been accustomed to for many years.