Sazerac Cocktail
THE SAZERACThe year of 1838, Creole apothecary Antoine Peychaud invented the Sazerac in his shop at 437 Royal Street. The name of the drink comes from Peychaud’s favorite French brandy, Sazerac-de-Forge et fils. Somewhere along the line, American Rye-whiskey was substituted for the cognac and, in 1873, bartender Leon Lamothe added a dash of Absinthe. Called the “Green Fairy” for its color and the “Black Death” for its licorice flavor, Absinthe was banned in 1912 for allegedly causing hallucination. Herbsaint is a brand name of anise-flavored liqueur originally created as an absinthe-substitute in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1934, and currently produced by the Sazerac Company. It also found its way as a main flavoring of oysters Rockefeller at Antoine’s. The first World War (and then the second World War) obscured much of the German presence in New Orleans. Laws prohibited the teaching of German and suppressed German culture in general. The elegant Grunewald Hotel was compelled to change its name to the Roosevelt. It was in the Grunewald Hotel's Sazerac Bar where the Sazerac, the quintessential New Orleans cocktail, had a second rising of popularity.Makes 4 cocktails 8 sugar cubes 8 dashes Peychaud’s bitters 12 ounces rye or Canadian Whiskey 2 ounces Herbsaint, Pernod, or Absinthe (all legal and available today)4 orange twists, orange slices for garnish 1. Chill four old-fashioned glasses by filling them with ice and letting them sit while preparing the cocktails. 2. Muddle the sugar cubes and bitters together in a cocktail shaker. Add the rye, fill with ice, and stir until chilled. 3. Discard the ice in the chilled glasses. Pour the Herbsaint into one glass and swirl to coat the inside of the glass. Pour the Herbsaint from the first glass into a second glass and swirl to coat. Continue the process with the remaining 2 glasses. Pour any remaining Herbsaint from the fourth glass into the cocktail shaker and shake to combine. 4. Strain the rye mixture into the prepared glasses. Garnish each with an orange twist and slice (lemon is traditional, but I enjoy the combination of orange and whiskey). Traditionalists insist that the lemon twist should be squeezed over the cocktail to release its essences but not dropped into the glass itself. I like how the garnish looks in the glass, so I drop it in.