Frank Sinatra's 3-2-1 Method For The Perfect Glass Of Whiskey

If you're a fan of cocktails, you probably have some favorites, but it's always fun to try something new, even if it's an old favorite. Some cocktails remain classic with their various remixes, and it's hard to imagine some of them without whiskey. While the 80-proof Jack Daniel's bottle is (arguably) the face of bourbon whiskey today, Frank Sinatra helped put it on the map, thanks to his 3-2-1 drink. Although it isn't a definitive cocktail, per se, it still includes a few ingredients. It's more of a water (some of it frozen) and whiskey mix, but it has an interesting history that changed the whiskey game forever.

If you want to drink your whiskey as Frank Sinatra did, with the 3-2-1 method, all you need is a rocks glass with three ice cubes, two fingers to measure, and a bit of water from the tap. To be precise, a "finger" is a 1-ounce pour, so you can use a jigger to measure 2 ounces, and you're ready to go. Pour the whiskey over the ice and add a splash of water. It seems simple, but Sinatra's favorite beverage probably had more influence on what people drank than any of the U.S. presidents' favorite drinks.

Although it's a big name now, Jack Daniel's wasn't quite as well known when Frank Sinatra fell in love with it. Apparently Sinatra was first introduced to Jack Daniel's Tennessee whiskey by his friend, Humphrey Bogart. 

Legend says that Bogart first gave the whiskey to Sinatra, then a small regional distiller, sometime in the 1950s, and Sinatra, rocks glass in hand, supposedly announced from the stage in 1955, "Ladies and gentlemen, this is Jack Daniel's, and it's the nectar of the gods." At the time, Sinatra was a cultural heavyweight with a lot of public influence. Jack Daniel's sales skyrocketed in the following years, thanks to Frank, and it became a household name. And, in his honor, Jack Daniel's created its Sinatra Select with a special barrel process that adds to the whiskey's flavor. As the brand says on its website, "Much like Frank, this Tennessee Whiskey is one of a kind."