Cocktail Recipe - The Sazerac

The story
While you can’t trademark a cocktail, there are four cocktails in the world whose names are trademarked. The Dark n’ Stormy, the Hand Grenade, the Painkiller and the Sazerac. The Saverac is essentially a local variant of an Old Fashioned and its origins go back to the first half of the 19th century. Back then it was made with cognac as the primary spirit and was invented by New Orleans pharmacist Antoine Peychaud, inventor of Peychaud’s Bitters, as a health restoring elixir.

Cognac is of course a grape based spirit and following a vineyard epidemic in the 1880s, the recipe changed to American rye whiskey instead. Aside from the choice of rye whiskey (as opposed to bourbon) and aniseed notes of the absinthe, the other notable difference between a Sazerac and an Old Fashioned is in their traditional servings, with Sazeracs served neat rather than on the rocks.

There are different ways to make a Sazerac. I prefer to use a sugar cube, but sugar syrup can be used and it’ll still be lovely.

Sazerac cocktail

The drink
Ingredients:
50ml American Rye Whiskey
1 sugar cube and ½ teaspoon of water 
Absinthe
Peychaud’s bitters
Twist of orange or lemon

Kit:
A mixing glass and strainer
Muddle
Stirrer
Traditionally a rocks glass, although I suspect this is due to it being a more masculine cocktail. Personally I prefer a mini coupe.

Directions:
Rinse your, preferably chilled, glass with absinthe and then pour out what remains
Add the sugarcube, water and bitters to your mixing glass and muddle
Add ice and rye to mixing glass and stir for 30 seconds
Strain the drink into your glass!