Sazerac
Rye, Peychaud's and sugar in an absinthe-rinsed glass, with no ice in the finished drink. New Orleans in a rocks glass.
Built to the standard modern spec; not yet tested in our kitchen. How we test.
The recipe.
Scaling adjusts quantities only. Prepare shaken drinks in individual portions.
Let’s make a good drink.
Rinse a chilled rocks glass with absinthe, coating the inside, and tip out the excess.
Add the rye, demerara syrup and both bitters to a mixing glass.
Fill with ice and stir for 25-30 seconds.
Strain into the absinthe-rinsed glass — no ice — then express a lemon twist over the surface.
A thoughtful finish
- No ice in the serving glass. The drink is chilled by stirring and served neat in a chilled rocks glass; this is the detail most often got wrong.
- Chill the glass in the freezer while you build. Without ice in it, the glass is your only insulation.
- Traditionally the lemon twist is expressed over the drink and discarded rather than dropped in. Either way, you want the oil, not the peel sitting in the glass.
Common mistakes
- Serving it over ice, which turns it into a watery Old Fashioned within minutes.
- Pouring absinthe into the drink rather than rinsing the glass.
- Substituting Angostura for Peychaud's. Peychaud's is lighter, sweeter and distinctly anise-and-cherry; it is not interchangeable here.
A few good questions.
Rye or cognac?
Both are historically correct — cognac first, rye after phylloxera. The IBA lists both. Rye is the standard modern build; a half-and-half split of rye and cognac is excellent and arguably the most honest version.
Is the egg-cup story about the word 'cocktail' true?
No. The claim that cocktail derives from coquetier, the egg cup Peychaud supposedly served it in, is appealing but unsupported. The word is in print in English by 1806 with no French connection.
What can I use instead of absinthe?
A pastis such as Pernod is the usual substitute and is what many New Orleans bars used during the long absinthe ban. It is sweeter and more aniseed-forward but works.
Why is there no ice?
Because the drink is meant to be concentrated and cold rather than diluted and cold. All the water it gets comes from the stir.
Variations
- Sazerac with cognac — The original brandy build.
- Vieux Carré — Rye, cognac, sweet vermouth, Bénédictine and two bitters.
- Old Fashioned — The same family without absinthe or Peychaud's.
- Seelbach — Bourbon, triple sec, heavy bitters and Champagne.
Where it comes from
c. 1850s-1890s · New Orleans, Louisiana · Antoine Amédée Peychaud / Thomas H. Handy · Sazerac Coffee House
Contested. More than one origin is claimed for this drink. We show the competing accounts rather than pick one.
The drink is named for Sazerac de Forge et Fils, the cognac imported by the Sazerac Coffee House in New Orleans, and it was originally made with that brandy. Antoine Amédée Peychaud, a Creole apothecary, is associated with the bitters that are still essential to it, though the often-repeated story that he served the drink in an egg cup — a coquetier, supposedly the root of the word cocktail — is folk etymology and not supported by the evidence. Thomas H. Handy, who acquired the business in the 1870s, is credited with the switch from cognac to rye, which lines up with the phylloxera epidemic choking off French brandy supply. Louisiana’s legislature named it the official cocktail of New Orleans in 2008.
Sources
- David Wondrich, Imbibe!, 2007 (book)
- Louisiana State Legislature, Senate Bill 6, 2008 (legislation)
- IBA Official Cocktails list, current (standards body)
Strength. About 1.59 US standard drinks at an estimated 33.2% ABV, estimated from the ingredients and technique, not measured. What that means.
A little character in every sip.
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