How Mad Men gave us back ‘The Old Fashioned’ Cocktail

There’s an allure that comes with saying the following line.

“Can I get an Old Fashioned?”

Don does it so well here.

For me the phrase embodies a sense of charm, elegance and an essence of the way things used to be. The clip above comes from the show Mad Men, that was created by Mathew Weiner and aired on AMC from 2007–2015. During its run, the show’s poignant depiction of 1960’s America explored the grace and style of that golden age. As the show’s central protagonist, Don Draper is a dapper man who epitomized American regality, old school bravado and classic maleness. Draper was a man who possessed all the traits men covet. He was tall, dark and handsome, always clean shaven and had hair that was perfectly cut and styled. His was a straight face as it showed no pretense or hidden agenda. Men respected and wanted to be him, while women adored and wanted to bed him. His children never saw him, yet they still loved him. Don Draper was our hero. I loved watching him, and I’ll admit that a part of me wanted to be him.

His drink of choice was the Old Fashioned, yet it wasn’t all he drank. Vodka martinis at lunch with his cohort Roger Sterling were never too far off. 9:30am meetings with a two finger full glass of Canadian Club also were common. You watched as he drank himself drunk numerous times, yet as a viewer you still respected him.

You rooted for him.

His pain and agony with two divorces, a past hidden beneath layers of lies and a childhood scorned from abuse and neglect resonated with us. He was perfect on the outside, yet self-doubt and trouble broiled on the inside. Don Draper was your American man, warts and all.

As someone who’s witnessed many men and women enjoy the Old Fashioned as their drink of choice, I’m always reminded of this man. Don. Back in 2007, before Man Men launched itself into our lives, Old Fashioned’s were…well, just that, ‘Old Fashioned’. Cocktail culture as we see it today had not yet fully bore itself from its infancy. Bourbon, Rye and the allure of Pappy Van Winkle were still hidden away as gems of a bygone era before Prohibition. Mad Men changed that for us. Don Draper made us want to drink the classic older versions of ourselves. No more dirty martinis or cosmopolitans. The life of Carrie Bradshaw was over for us. We wanted more.

We wanted a richer self with history and stories.

The story and linkage of Mad Men, Don Draper and the Old Fashioned is an easy one. They helped us to stop forgetting the past. Sitting at a bar, most enjoy their time with others, just like in the scene above where Conrad Hilton and Don Draper find a way to connect in the most basic form. Hailing from two very different generations, they bond over their shared disdain for being left out. As was with the Old Fashioned for many years, being left out of the conversation made it almost extinct. As both men do here, with that weighty cocktail in hand they show us that it’s more about the story than the drink we sip. The Old Fashioned is a just a gateway to getting us there.

It’s hard to bond over martinis and mojitos as they have their rightful place for different times. But with either a hand in one pocket or with two elbows greased deep into the warmth of 3 feet of wood, having a simple delicious cocktail to help tell your story never felt so right. Don Draper had his flaws and there were many of them, but when it came to having a drink he knew just the right poison.

Since it’s debut in 2007, Mad Men helped usher in the Old Fashion, elevating it to the cocktail drink of choice for most of us. I’ll continue to serve and drink them for years to come, but as I do, I’ll do my best to never forget how Don reminded us of why they were Old Fashioned in the first place.

Simplicity never felt so right.