Old Fashioned Cocktail

Exactly where and when the Old Fashioned Cocktail was invented is really unknown, although there are some references that would date it to "at least" the early 1800s. It is possible, or perhaps even likely, that the bourbon element was added in Louisville, Kentucky in the 1880s, as prior to that time, other types of alcohol were included in cocktails with similar ingredients. Anyway, in more modern times rye whiskey or bourbon whiskey are often used, but you can also give brandy a try. The most difficult thing about this cocktail is muddling the sugar to get it dissolved, and this can take a minute. Of course, if you have "bar sugar;" that is, very fine sugar, it will naturally dissolve more easily, but I'm guessing most people do NOT have this on hand. 

Ingredients (per drink):

2 ounces rye or bourbon whiskey
1/4 teaspoon sugar
2 dashes angostura bitters
(optional) couple of drops of water
1/2 ounce triple sec or curaçao
1 orange wedge for garnish 
1 maraschino cherry for garnish
ice (not too many/much ice)

Muddle the sugar and bitters well in a rocks/old fashioned glass until the sugar is dissolved (add a drop or two of water to help the process, if needed). (NOTE: If you like a sweeter drink, use 1/2 teaspoon sugar, but also add a few drops of water, then muddle well to dissolve the sugar.) Add the whiskey and triple sec, then stir well to mix. Add some ice and garnish with an orange wedge (give the orange wedge a little squeeze to let a few drops of the juice get into the cocktail) and maraschino cherry. The glass does NOT have to be completely filled. I recall a mixologist (a mixer of cocktails and drinks) from about 35 years ago who always said to me, "Less ice is better in an Old Fashioned." 

WORD HISTORY:
Muddle-This word is closely related to "mud," a word from Germanic. "Muddle" appears in English circa 1600, with the sense, "bathe or roll in the mud," thus the progressive development meanings, "make water muddy or unclear," thus, "to make something unclear, to make something confusing," but also simply, "to mix together well," and later, the secondary meaning of, "make a mess of something" (second half of the 1800s?). "Muddle" could simply be the extension of English "mud" through the influence of close relatives Dutch ("moddelen," meaning, "to make water muddy") and/or Low German or Rhenish German dialect "muddele" (meaning, "to stir up or churn up mud or sediment in water, thus making it unclear"),^ or it could be a direct borrowing from one of these words.  

^ Rhenish German dialect is part of the larger regional dialect "Ripuarian" (German: Ripuarisch), which goes back to the Germanic Ripuarian Franks, also called Rhine Franks, who were a part of the larger Germanic tribe the Franks. The dialect is something of a mixture of High German and Low German, although the dialect variations are often referred to in German as "Platt" (literally "flat," in English; thus, "low"). The best known of this dialect's variations is likely "Kölsch," the dialect of Cologne, followed by "Öcher," the dialect of Aachen (a German cousin's former girlfriend is from Aachen, and she can also 'get the gist' of a lot of Dutch; the German dialects in that overall area and Dutch are all from Frankish; thus they are "similar" (I didn't say "the same").