Mardi Gras is upon us and Fat tuesday is around the corner. So why feature the classic New Orleans Cocktail. No, I’m not talking about a Hurricane, I am talking about the Sazerac one of the very first cocktail recipes in history. It was created in the 1830’s by Phamacist Antoine Amédée Peychaud, as a way to deliver a dose of his “health” elixir, Peychaud’s Bitters. These bitters are still used today.

The Cocktail get’s its name from a brand of Cognac, Sazerac de Forge et Fils, which was the original base ingredient of the cocktail. It also became famous at the Sazerac Coffee House, opened in 1859, which was said to have gained it’s name from the Cognac as well.

Sazerac

2 oz. Sazerac Rye Whiskey or Bourbon
1/4 teaspoon Absinthe or anise flavored liquor (such as Pernod, Herbsaint or Anisette)
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon water
Dash of Peychaud’s bitters
Lemon twist

Pour the Absinthe into a chilled old fashioned glass, swirl the liquor around the glass until the glass is coated. Add the sugar, water and bitters and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Fill the glass with ice cubes, add the bourbon, stir well and add a twist of lemon.

Classic Cocktails of New Orleans
past Drink of the Week Cocktails

This entry was posted on Friday, February 20th, 2009 at 12:01 am and is filed under Whiskey, Drink of the Week, Drinking History, Events, Absinthe. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.