Post #560063 by telescopes on Fri, Oct 15, 2010 9:41 PM

I just finished a couple of Old Fashioneds (how does one spell this using a plural form) made with bourbon rather than rye.

I prefer rye, but Ruth's Chris doesn't stock it.

But here's my question. Down in the depths of Bilge, I just wrote the following in response and I want to know if I got it right. Since this is the serious area, my question is serious. And so is my headache.

Quote:

On 2010-10-07 22:16, JOHN-O wrote:
Actually I do prefer Bourbon to Rum.

And I prefer Rye to bourbon. It is more crisp and dry and taste a hell of a lot better in an Old Fashion then bourbon.

Now, to make here a solid TIKI point about alternative tiki spirits. The Old Fashioned might be considered a true tiki drink if you think about it from a sailor's point of view. Many sailors, or so I have been lead to understand, were quartered in San Diego after WW11. And apparently, they loved Old Fashions, so much so, that the Old Fashioned is still served as a San Diego specialty in many San Diego establishments. And since these same sailors happened to have developed a taste for this drink after running around the Pacific, I think it is possible to presume that rye is an authentic drink of South Pacific American sailors, the same sailors who helped to make tiki what it was after the Big One. I need to qualify here that Rye is indeed the proper spirit for making an Old Fashioned fashionable.

So, am I on solid ground?