The Sazerac is a popular cocktail from New Orleans, named after a French cognac. Invented in 1830 by a pharmacist, it was originally made with cognac but later switched to rye whiskey and absinthe. The Sazerac Bar and Restaurant still exists in New Orleans, and the Sazerac Company holds the recipe rights for Peychaud’s bitters.
A Sazerac is a cocktail first popularized in New Orleans, Louisiana in the 1800s that continues its popularity into modern times. Its name comes from Sazerac-de-forge et fils, the French cognac that was one of its original key ingredients. The drink is such a part of New Orleans culture that State Senator Edwin Murray introduced a Senate bill in March 2008 to designate it as the official drink of Louisiana. After some political wrangling, the scope of the bill was limited, and the Sazerac became the official drink of New Orleans on June 23, 2008.
Just after the turn of the 19th century, similar cocktails were popular in New Orleans. In 1830, a pharmacist named Antoine Amedee Peychaud invented the version that would come to be known as Sazerac. He made the drink by mixing his own blend of bitters with French cognac, sugar and water. Peychaud prescribed the cocktail as medicine to customers of his pharmacy. Eventually, the drink became so popular that in the middle of the century, an entrepreneur named Aaron Bird had coined the drink Sazerac and named a bar after it. The Sazerac Coffee House boasted a 120-foot-long bar behind which a line of bartenders served cocktails to patrons.
Due to changing American tastes and an outbreak of disease in Europe that made obtaining cognac difficult, the cocktail began to be made with rye whiskey rather than cognac around 1870. At this time it was added absinthe, an aniseed liqueur, with the standard ingredients of Bitters and Peychaud’s sugar. When the US government outlawed absinthe in 1912 because it was thought to be addictive, it was replaced with Herbsaint. This still remains a popular replacement.
A person generally makes this cocktail by filling a lowball glass with ice or placing it in the refrigerator or freezer for about 30 minutes. While that glass is chilling, another glass is used to muddle a cube of sugar with three dashes of Peychaud’s blend of bitters. Then, 1.5 oz (42 g) of rye whiskey is added and everything is blended together. Once the first glass is chilled, the ice is discarded and the absinthe is swirled in it to completely coat the inside of the glass. After discarding the excess absinthe, the rye mixture is added to the prepared glass. A lemon wedge makes a nice garnish for the drink.
Even though it has changed ownership and moved, the Sazerac Coffee House still exists in New Orleans. It was moved to the Roosevelt Hotel in 1949 and renamed the Sazerac Bar and Restaurant. The hotel owners pay a licensing fee each year for use of the name to the Sazerac Company, which has grown into a large liquor company and also holds the recipe rights for Peychaud’s bitters.
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