Television has long ignored the fact that people like to drink, which is one reason why Mad Men is so popular at Vino. What other show comes replete with its own cocktail guide? It’s fair to say that when it comes to the culture and history of drinking, this weekly ode to a bygone era gets it right. Don Draper knows his way around a bar, and this is the reason he drinks Old Overholt Rye (below).
Originally, distilled in Broad Ford, Pennsylvania, 35 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, Old Overholt was established in 1810 by Abraham Overholt. His whiskey was named Old Farm, but in 1859, his son built a new distillery and the production of a new spirit named for the Overholt family began. Old Overholt has had its share of ups-and-downs; one thing that kept the brand afloat during hard times is that it was one of only a few brands allowed to be sold as a medicinal whiskey during Prohibition.
While Old Overholt is now owned by Beam Global Spirits and distilled in Clermont, Kentucky, it still continues to shine and make one hell of a cocktail. Aged for four years, it’s one of the best values in American whiskey. It tends to work wonderfully in classic cocktails like Manhattans and Sazeracs. Or, do like Mr. Draper and substitute it for bourbon in an Old Fashioned.
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