This cocktail, from a watering hole in the former Hell’s Half Acre, puts vice on ice

June 7,2017

By Celestina Blok

On the south end of downtown Fort Worth, in the middle of what was the notorious red-light district Hell’s Half Acre in the 1800s, sits Acre Distilling Co. This is where owner Tony Formby and his distilling team create small batch spirits including bourbon whiskey, vodka, rum and gin. With a 25-foot bar, street-side patio and plenty of room for private events, the place is popular for guy groups, bachelor parties and men looking for a no-frills watering hole to sit and sip a while. While Acre’s straight bourbon whiskey, named for Fort Worth’s bad-tempered ex-marshal “Longhair” Jim Courtright, holds its own on ice, it’s the wood-aged dry gin that won silver at last year’s Los Angeles International Spirits Competition. Try it in this version of an Old Fashioned, a classic cocktail even Courtright would enjoy.

MEANDER WOODED GIN OLD FASHIONED

Serves 1

• 2 ounces Acre Distilling Co. Meander Wood Aged London Dry Gin

• 1/2 ounce simple syrup

• 2 dashes Angostura bitters

• 2 dashes orange bitters

• Orange peel, for garnish

• 1 Amarena Toschi cherry, for garnish

Combine gin, syrup and bitters in a mixing glass with ice. Strain into an ice-filled rocks glass. Garnish with rolled orange peel and cherry.