Southside Sips: Arthur & Sons Hazelnut Old Fashioned

Chef Joe Isidori is kind of a classic guy. You can tell by the well-executed, elevated Italian-American staples at the recently opened Bridgehampton outpost of his family’s Manhattan-based restaurant, Arthur & Sons. 

And just like that thoughtful roster of pleasures for the palate, when it comes to cocktails, he’s all classic — with a little oomph.

In the canon of classic cocktails, the Old Fashioned certainly looms large, and has had quite a journey. Its core is clearly the very basics of the original cocktail: spirit, sugar, water, bitters. And its exact origins with a called-for name likely date to the late 1800s in Chicago, according to the “Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails” by David Wondrich and Noah Rothbaum. And those four simple ingredients — whiskey, sugar, water, bitters — have endured because of their balance and flavor. Other ingredients that have come to the fore over the years, however, involve fruit: notably, the orange slice (or peel) and the maraschino cherry (preferably a well-made one).

For the version served at Arthur & Sons, the devil is in the drink’s tiny details. The addition of hazelnut liqueur adds an autumnal snap and nuttiness that cleaves to the caramel-scented bourbon. And the big surprise is a little saline solution to open up flavor on the palate and extract a little more complexity from the sweetness of the fruit and whiskey.

“We use it for the same reason you would salt food: It helps to enhance the flavors and provides a contrast to the inherent sweetness of the Frangelico and bourbon,” says Isidori. “We usually mix all the bitters and saline together in the correct ratio and add it to one bottle.” 

While Isidori notes that the at-home bartender can easily omit the saline, it’s simple to put together: Mix 1 ounce of salt with 5 ounces of warm water and stir until dissolved. That’s it. Much easier than trying to recreate Isidori’s mom’s legendary meatballs. For those, you need to head to the restaurant. For the drink, do try this at home.

1 drop saline solution

2 ½ oz. bourbon

½ oz. Frangelico

1. Add orange slice and Amarena cherry to rocks glass.

2. Place the fruit in a double rocks glass. Pour the Angostura bitters, orange bitters and saline solution over the fruit. Lightly muddle. Add ice and pour in the bourbon and Frangelico. Stir well. (Isidori recommends a full 40 rotations for proper dilution and chilling.) Add a little more fresh ice and serve. Cin-cin!