Greetings Aron,

The Sazerac is a close cousin to the Old Fashioned that traditionally consists of rye whiskey or brandy, bitters, sugar, and absinthe. The drink has reportedly been consumed in some form as far back as 1838, with the cocktail itself becoming trademarked in 1900 by the Sazerac Company. The Sazerac cocktail was crowned the official cocktail of New Orleans in 2008, though this designation was hardly needed—official status or not, the Sazerac has always belonged to the Crescent City.

It’s believed that the first Sazeracs were made with French brandy—Sazerac de Forge et Fils Cognac, to be specific—rather than the now-standard rye whiskey. The earliest iteration of the cocktail is said to have originated from Antoine Amédée Peychaud, a pharmacist from Saint-Domingue, a French colony in what’s now modern-day Haiti. Peychaud relocated to New Orleans around the time of the Haitian Revolution, where he opened an apothecary that sold, among other things, his namesake Peychaud’s Bitters.

Like other bitters of the time, Peychaud’s was originally marketed as a curative before making its way into the pantheon of great cocktail ingredients. The story goes that the businessman began to combine his bitters with brandy, sugar, and water, then marketed the resulting elixir as a health-aid. Eventually this cocktail grew in popularity to the point where locals sought it out whether they were sick or not, and the Sazerac cocktail was born.

Around 1885, after Europe’s phylloxera epidemic decimated French vineyards, grape-based brandy was replaced with American rye whiskey as the Sazerac’s spirit of choice.

Rinse a chilled rocks glass with absinthe, discarding any excess, and set aside.

In a mixing glass, muddle 1 Sugar Cube, 1/2 tsp. Cold Water and 4 Dashes of bitters. Add 2 1/2oz Rye Whiskey. Stir for 1/2 Minute until Well Chilled.

Add the rye whiskey, fill the mixing glass with ice and stir 15­–20 seconds, until well-chilled.

Strain into the prepared glass.

Twist the lemon peel over the drink’s surface to express the peel’s oils, then garnish with the peel.

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Sazerac Straight Rye Whiskey

750mL

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