A BRIEF HISTORY AND RECIPE OF THIS NEW ORLEANS CLASSIC
In 1838 the owner of a New Orleans apothecary, Antoine Amedie Peychaud, made his friends brandy toddies using his own recipe which included his own bitters known as “Peychaud’s Bitters” which was made from a secret family recipe. The toddies were made using a double-ended egg cup as a measuring cup or jigger, then known as a “coquetier” (pronounced “ko-k-tay”), from which the word “cocktail” was derived. Thus arguably, the world’s first cocktail was born!
By 1850 the concoction became the first “branded” cocktail and was made with Sazerac French brandy and Peychaud’s Bitters. In 1873, the recipe for the Sazerac Cocktail was altered to replace the French brandy with American Rye whiskey and a dash of absinthe was added creating the ever popular Sazerac.
And today following a renaissance of classic cocktails the Sazerac is found in all craft cocktail bars along with many others.
RECIPE
½ oz simple syrup (or one sugar cube muddled with bitters) 1½ ounces Sazerac Rye Whiskey ¼ ounce Absinthe 3 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters Lemon Skin
METHOD
Chill the serving glass with ice and water
Add sugar and bitters into a mixing glass and muddle
Add the Rye to the mixing glass and stir
Discard ice and add the absinthe to the chilled glass
Swirl the absinthe and discard excess
Pour the stirred ingredients into the serving glass
Add a thin strip of lemon skin and enjoy!