The Old Austin at Annie's. Photograph by Mike Sutter for the Statesman

The cover story of the Austin 360 insert in the Statesman today features "7 ways to drink at 7 fresh places." One of the fresh places to drink is the bar that I manage at Annie's on Congress, and the drink is the Old Austin. I did not develop this drink but I have been doing everything in my power to promote it. This article certainly can't hurt.

The cocktail was developed by Bill Norris of FINO, and it's good--so good that after Bill put the cocktail on the menu at Annie's (where he was a consultant), he confessed that he wished he'd reserved it for his own menu. A variation on the Old Fashioned, it consists of Wild Turkey Rye, Pecan Syrup (easily made at home), Fee Bros Whiskey Barrel Aged Bitters (order online at Kegworks.com or substitute Angostura), and the zests of lemon and orange. A personal fantasy of mine is to make an Old Austin syrup that you can just add whiskey and citrus zest to, as I feel like this drink should become ubiquitous in Austin--our official cocktail.

The Old Austin
1 orange for zesting and peeling
1 lemon for zesting and peeling
Half an ounce of pecan syrup (made by simmering roasted, unsalted pecan halves in simple syrup for 15 minutes, then removing the pecans)
2 oz. Wild Turkey rye whiskey
2-3 dashes Fee Brothers Whiskey Barrel Aged Bitters or angostura bitters
Cracked ice
Over an Old Fashioned glass, use a vegetable peeler to cut a wide, thin section of zest from the orange and lemon, being careful not to include the white pith underneath. Express the oils of the zest into the glass by squeezing lightly, then drop the sections of zest into the glass. Add pecan syrup, bitters and rye whiskey. Add ice and stir to combine.

A note about the other fresh places mentioned in the piece today: Go to the Eastside Showroom! The Framboise Flip is making my mouth water just thinking about it, and Adam, the bartender behind it, is one of the best in town.