Best Old Fashioned: Ladybird’s
Certain drinks evoke certain drinking environments. Por ejemplo, a slushy piña colada with a tiny paper umbrella might transport you to a Cancun beach, a place to squish white sand between your toes with every rum-soaked sip. A XXXX Bitter Ale might recall the night you sank a bunch of tinnies with the fellow seppos, bogans and cheeky punks at the Flangipanis show in Brisbane. Order a peach mimosa and you’re back at that wild drag brunch with the girls.
An old fashioned summons staid, dignified, wood paneled sitting rooms with leather chairs and not, por ejemplo, the sunshine and light vibes of the outdoor deck at Ladybird’s. And, of course, that’s what makes their old fashioned all the more remarkable. The drink blueprint at the family-owned icehouse by the train tracks in the Heights is as quaint as the place: George Dickel No. 12 whiskey or Elijah Craig rye, demerara and orange Angostura bitters with the requisite orange zest. Naturally, it is mixed to perfection. At Ladybird’s, it’s listed at the top of the cocktail menu, alerting anyone who’s never stopped by it is the bar’s signature drink.
We’ve had it late night at Ladybird’s, but the best time to drink an old fashioned there is when the sun is shining and you can enjoy the drink on the spacious deck, far from the stuffy leather chairs of the world. The rays of light glisten off the craft cut ice block in the drink and add a beautiful luminescence to the familiar amber hue. You’re drinking an old fashioned outdoors, in the broad daylight. There’s no sand to squish between your toes, but there is a cool stenciled image of Bill and Ted there with the phrase “Be Excellent To Each Other,” so maybe the environment helps make the drink special, too.
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