Need a drink? Yeah, me too. Here’s an easy Old Fashioned for hard times

You can use a strainer and a stirrer and sugar cubes and simple syrup and fancy Luxardo cherries from Italy to make an Old Fashioned ... or, when what you need is a stiff drink, not a choreographed dance routine, you can make it like this.

The fastest way to an Old Fashioned:

Combine ½ teaspoon granulated sugar, 2 dashes Angostura bitters and ½ teaspoon water in the bottom of a rocks glass and muddle with a muddler or gently smash with the wooden handle of a spoon or other kitchen implement until the sugar dissolves. Add 2 ounces bourbon or rye and stir until well mixed.

Using a vegetable peeler, remove a 3- to 4-inch long strip of zest from an orange. Immediately twist the peel directly over the drink, then run the pith side around the rim of the glass. Drop the twist into the glass and add one big ice cube or enough regular-sized ones to nearly fill the glass. Stir until the drink is very chilled, 20 to 30 seconds. Repeat as needed.

Easy Old Fashioned

Time 5 minutes

Yields Makes 1 drink