The Outdated-Usual—a easy mixture of sugar, bitters and whiskey—has turn into so codified within the cocktail world that one may be forgiven for assuming that, via osmosis, they’d mastered it. However for the studious, the Outdated-Usual, just like the Manhattan or the Sazerac, is a grasp class in contrasts—one proudly delicate to adjustments in its construction. Take into account, for instance, Tom Macy’s take. The previous associate in New York’s Clover Membership arrived at his Outdated-Usual construct after testing 40 variations over a number of years. “I attempted completely different ryes, I attempted completely different bourbons, I attempted break up bases,” he says. “I actually took it aside.” 

In our Ultimates sequence, we seek for the perfect examples of seemingly easy drinks. Here’s a number of six of these tried-and-true recipes for the whiskey classics, from the Sazerac to the Rob Roy and past.