I've never been a big fan of seasonal cocktails. A glass of really good whiskey can be awesome in July.

This drink's name says it all: The Old Fashioned adheres to the earliest known definition of "cocktail," which described a mixture of spirit, bitters, water and sugar. That's it. Nothing more.

The oldest definition that anyone has found for the term "cocktail" describes a drink with exactly four ingredients: A spirit (of course), water, bitters and sugar.

For spirits, the last year has been a dilly, a doozy, a real humdinger. In other words, spectacular. A ridiculously gushing torrent of new bottlings has hit the shelves of liquor stores and bars worldwide.

With July 4th at hand, it's time to pay tribute to those uniquely American inventions that have made this country great. Baseball. Jazz. Blue jeans...