Sizing Up the Sazerac

by Pableaux Johnson

One of the great things about New Orleans is that it's ALWAYS time for a cocktail. Whether you're here during the dead of winter or sweltering your way through a beastly humid summertime, there's a great tradition of "adult beverages" to suit just about every mood.

First time tourists slug back passion fruit flavored Hurricanes and high-octane frozen daiquiris of every conceiveable flavor and color. (The latter is usually served in alien-shaped plastic statue/cups. Go figger.) For genteel brunches, there's the category of sweet "eye openers" that can include extra-spicy Bloody Marys or the creamy Absinthe Suissesse.

But for my money, one of the least understood (and usually downplayed) local libation has got to be the noble Sazerac. To look at a glass of this local cocktail, you'd swear that it was a garden variety Old Fashioned (a sweet bourbon drink flavored with aromatic bitters ) without the orange slice. But take a sip and you'll realize that the Sazerac is not only a whiskey drink of the highest order, but a regional treasure best appreciated in the bars of the Crescent City.

The dominant flavors of the Sazerac are full-bodied rye whiskey (a notch deeper than bourbon on the brown liquors scale), Peychaud's bitters, and a hint of anise/licorice and lemon somewhere in the mix. Ask an old New Orleans bartender for a Sazerac, and you're in for a treat that you can only get in New Orleans.

A little history

Wherever you have a million bartenders and a rich drinking tradition, you'll usually have a few stories that start out as follows: "You know, the cocktail was actually invented not far from here…" Barkeeps in New York have their version, and New Orleans locals are no different – so prepare yourself for the local version.

In 1793 a young Creole apothecary named Antoine Peychaud fled the slave uprising in Santa Domingo and made his home in New Orleans. Peychaud brought with him a special recipe for aromatic bitters. He made a fortune selling his Peychaud's bitters, which he conveniently served with a measure of brandy, as a tonic for the “stomachs sake.” Men would come into his store and take this “tonic,” which Peychaud poured into an egg cup. The French word for egg cup is coquetier and Peychaud’s habit of serving his drink mixture from a coquetier is considered – at least by the locals – to be the origin of both the word cocktail and the modern jigger (the 1 ounce measure for measuring spirits).

Like any origin myth, this one should be taken with a shaker of salt and a healthy shot of skepticism. The part about the bitters is actually documented, as the product is still produced. Bright red Peychaud's bitters are a required component of any classic Sazerac.

Local ingredients and a Whiskey Kick

Three of the components that make the Sazerac city-specific are Mr. Peychaud's much-ballyhooed bitters, stout rye whiskey and a locally-brewed anisette called Herbsaint.

Start with the active ingredient: rye whiskey. For most of the last century, this potent brown liquor reigned supreme, but was slowly replaced in many common bar drinks by the lighter-bodied bourbon. (Distilled from recipes with a high percentage of corn instead of malted rye.) Now, at the beginning of the 21st century, bars are more likely to stock a bottle of bubble gum flavored schnapps than rye, so you can substute a fuller-bodied small-batch bourbon in a pinch.

Peychaud's bitters are a local New Orleans product, with a different flavor profile than the standard barback bitters -- the clove-heavy and orangey Angostura variety. Peychaud's ruby red color makes it look like it tastes -- reminiscent of childhood cough syrup. But luckily, you're only using a dash instead of a teaspoon. The best recipes use a few dashes of Peychaud's and Angostura varieties --- a few drops can make all the difference.

And finally to the last distinctive element -- Herbsaint, a licorice-flavored anisette that's the local equivalent of the French absinthe substitutes Pernod or Ricard. In the Sazerac, the chilled glass is swirled with a little bit of Herbsaint (also used in the signature dish Oysters Rockefeller, doncha know) for a distinctive hint o' mystery.

So if you're bellied up to a New Orleans bar, take a shot of this distinctive taste of the city. And while you're at it, ask your bartender to tell you a little cocktail story. There's no telling WHERE you'll end up…