The Sazerac is New Orleans in a glass, and the city has made it official — it is the designated cocktail of New Orleans by act of the Louisiana legislature. Rye whiskey, sugar, Peychaud's bitters, and a coating of absinthe: an austere, aromatic, deeply spirit-forward drink with roots in the mid-nineteenth century.
The Absinthe Rinse
The defining move is the rinse. A chilled rocks glass is coated with a small measure of absinthe — or Herbsaint, the local New Orleans substitute — swirled to coat and then poured out.
What remains is only a ghost: an anise perfume that meets the nose before the whiskey reaches the lips. It is aroma, not flavour, and it is the soul of the drink.
Served Down, No Ice
The whiskey, sugar, and Peychaud's bitters are stirred with ice in a separate glass, then strained into the absinthe-rinsed glass without any ice at all. The Sazerac is served "down" — cold, undiluted by a cube, spirituous and direct.
Peychaud's, with its bright, gentian-cherry character, is essential and not interchangeable with Angostura. The garnish is a lemon peel, expressed for its oil — and, by strict tradition, discarded rather than dropped in.
Variations
The Sazerac as it began — Cognac in place of rye, the original recipe.
- 2 ozCognac
- 1 cubeSugar
- 3 dashesPeychaud's bitters
The Sazerac softened — bourbon for the rye, sweeter and rounder.
- 2 ozBourbon
- 1 cubeSugar
- 3 dashesPeychaud's bitters