It was a Saturday. Around 9pm. A guy walked up to the bar, looked at the Old Fashioned menu, and said, "I want to try all of them."

The bartender laughed. The guy didn't.

He Got Through Seven

He started with the Sentinel's Old Fashioned — our house recipe, built on Four Roses Single Barrel. Classic. Clean. A good handshake before the adventure starts.

Then the 816 Spiced Maple. Local honey, warm spice, bourbon backbone. Named for the area code. He nodded, said "that's Kansas City in a glass." He wasn't wrong.

Number three was the El Diablo — mezcal base, smoky, a little heat. His eyes got wide. "I didn't know you could do that with an Old Fashioned." That's the reaction we built the menu for.

The FAFO came next. Strong, balanced, no apologies. He asked what the name stood for. The bartender just smiled.

Five was Gingy's Demise — gingerbread-inspired, warm and sweet. Six was the Banana Bread Old Fashioned. By seven — the Aztec Cacao, dark chocolate and chili — he was slowing down. Not because the drinks were too strong. Because he wanted to remember each one.

He didn't make it to 36. Nobody has. Not in one night, anyway.

But he came back the next week. And the week after that. He's a Collective 33 member now.

Why 36 Old Fashioneds

Most bars make three. The classic. The smoked. Maybe a maple. That's the whole list.

We thought the Old Fashioned deserved more than three lines on a menu. The format is simple — spirit, sweetener, bitters, citrus — but those four elements can go in a hundred different directions. Change the spirit from bourbon to rye and the whole character shifts. Swap simple syrup for honey and the texture changes. Use chocolate bitters instead of Angostura and you're in a different neighborhood.

So we kept building. Every recipe starts with a question. What if the base was mezcal? What about a coffee-forward version? What if we built one around gingerbread?

36 questions. 36 answers. Each one made to order. No batching. No shortcuts.

Some are rooted in Kansas City — the 816, the KC Crossroads, the Red Kingdom for football season. Some are seasonal — Gingy's Demise shows up around the holidays, the Pot O' Gold in March. They rotate in and out, but the core menu keeps growing.

The One Nobody Expects

Ask the bartender which Old Fashioned surprises people the most. The answer changes depending on who you ask, but the Carajillo Old Fashioned comes up a lot. Coffee-forward, espresso and bourbon, a little sweetness to balance. People who think they know what an Old Fashioned tastes like order it and go quiet for a second.

That silence is the whole point.

Come Find Your Favorite

Start with the Sentinel's Old Fashioned. Branch out from there. Our staff will point you somewhere based on what you like. If you're feeling brave, try to beat seven.

The record is still open.

208 W Lexington Ave, Independence, MO. Open Tue–Sat.

~ The Sentinel