You know how some fashion magazine articles explain how to take your clothes from one season into another by wearing them with lightweight knits or strappy sandals or, I dunno, neutral colors?

To my mind, ordering an Old Fashioned made with Ransom Old Tom Gin is like that. It’s a way to keep enjoying a favorite wintertime drink in the warm months, without losing that hefty richness that makes you love it in the first place.

Lest I be accused of product placement, let me explain why I specify Ransom among Old Toms. First of all, it’s the only Old Tom I’ve had in an Old Fashioned. Second of all, it’s aged slightly—the Oregon-based distiller wanted to recreate the shipping and storage conditions in 17th-century England, when Old Toms were imbibed in abundance.

It’s also made with both malted grain and neutral spirits (popular gins are usually made with neutral only). The result is a rich, round, spicy beverage with a hefty mouthfeel. In other words, a spirit that can anchor a whiskey cocktail.

The herbal notes, meanwhile, lighten things up enough and add that refreshing quality of a gin-based drink, thus turning your Old Fashioned from winter warmer into springtime sipper. Okay, that was some corny language right there. Sincere apologies.

PS: If you don’t like Old Fashioneds, you can, and should, mix things up by trying Old Tom in a gin cocktail like a martinez, a Tom Collins, or a negroni.

PSS: I’ve had an OF with OT at four bars, and was happy each time. I first heard about it at Rob Roy, and have since tried versions at Bathtub Gin, Sambar, and Tavern Law.