Sazerac

The Sazerac is a close cousin to the Old Fashioned that traditionally consists of rye whiskey or brandy, bitters, sugar, and absinthe. The drink has reportedly been consumed in some form as far back as 1838, with the cocktail itself becoming trademarked in 1900 by the Sazerac Company. The Sazerac cocktail was crowned the official cocktail of New Orleans in 2008, though this designation was hardly needed—official status or not, the Sazerac has always belonged to the Crescent City.

It’s believed that the first Sazeracs were made with French brandy—Sazerac de Forge et Fils Cognac, to be specific—rather than the now-standard rye whiskey. The earliest iteration of the cocktail is said to have originated from Antoine Amédée Peychaud, a pharmacist from Saint-Domingue, a French colony in what’s now modern-day Haiti. Peychaud relocated to New Orleans around the time of the Haitian Revolution, where he opened an apothecary that sold, among other things, his namesake Peychaud’s Bitters.

Like other bitters of the time, Peychaud’s was originally marketed as a curative before making its way into the pantheon of great cocktail ingredients. The story goes that the businessman began to combine his bitters with brandy, sugar, and water, then marketed the resulting elixir as a health-aid. Eventually this cocktail grew in popularity to the point where locals sought it out whether they were sick or not, and the Sazerac cocktail was born.

Around 1885, after Europe’s phylloxera epidemic decimated French vineyards, grape-based brandy was replaced with American rye whiskey as the Sazerac’s spirit of choice.

What’s the difference between a Sazerac and an Old Fashioned?

Both the Sazerac and the Old Fashioned are based on a balance of whiskey, sugar, and bitters. However, they begin to diverge with the primary spirit. The Old Fashioned is known to traditionally call on bourbon as its base, while the modern Sazerac favors rye whiskey. Bourbon tends to be sweeter, while the rye offers a more peppery profile.

The reason this choice works so well for the Sazerac has to do with the drink’s absinthe rinse. Absinthe’s notes of anise and licorice integrate well with the spicier profile of rye whiskey, adding depth without creating the illusion of additional sweetness, as can happen when anise spirits combine with bourbon. The combo also works well with Peychaud’s bitters, which tends to have a lighter and brighter profile than many other types of bitters, but still has a strong backbone of anise that’s accentuated through the absinthe rinse.

Should a Sazerac use Cognac or Whiskey?

Though the Sazerac started as a cognac-based cocktail, around the turn of the 20th century, due to supply issues, the recipe took a hard turn and pivoted firmed to rye whiskey, where it remains today.

A well-made rye Sazerac is a delicious cocktail, full of kick and depth—though it can perhaps offer a bit too much kick for some tastes. Brandy or cognac, which are distilled from grapes, yield a Sazerac that’s fruity and floral, but lacks the modern iteration’s trademark spice notes which come from the use of grain spirit.

This recipe opts to use the modern standard of rye whiskey as the base, though you can always experiment to see which you like best. Split your base to use equal parts of both cognac and rye whiskey can also create interesting new dimensions. Either way, you’ll end up with a drink that’s unmistakably New Orleans.

Ingredients

• Absinthe, to rinse
• 1 sugar cube
• 1/2 teaspoon cold water
• 4 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
• 2 1/2 ounces rye whiskey
• Garnish: lemon peel

Steps

1. Rinse a chilled rocks glass with absinthe, discarding any excess, and set aside.
2. In a mixing glass, muddle the sugar cube, water and the Peychaud’s bitters.
3. Add the rye whiskey, fill the mixing glass with ice and stir 15­–20 seconds, until well-chilled.
4. Strain into the prepared glass.
5. Twist the lemon peel over the drink’s surface to express the peel’s oils, then garnish with the peel.