Old World Meets New
If you're a person who happens to enjoy a delightful, relaxing alcoholic beverage upon retiring from a hard day's work, and, obviously, that encompasses a large percentage of us, sit back and learn about the official cocktail of the city of New Orleans—designated in 2008.
Surely, as a prime New Orleanian, you've undoubtedly indulged in one—or two, or God forbid more—of these? Forget the Old Fashioned or Manhattan. Those iconic drinks have a time and place (far away) where they can, and will, be properly celebrated. But to drink a Sazerac is to combine the centuries-spanning experiences of French culture with that of our legendary downtown Quarter.
Legend has it that a French-Creole apothecary by the name of Antoine Peychaud concocted a marriage of Cognac and (his soon-to-be famous) bitters in the confines of an egg cup, or coquetier, in 1838 New Orleans. While those events are possibly true—he most certainly created the bitters that bear his name—it is doubtful that he was the originator of said cocktail. However, he probably did coin its name, fashioned after the Sazerac de Forge et Fils brand of Cognac that was originally used. According to an article in The Daily Picayune from February 1843, it seemed that just about every ingredient that we know and love was confirmed to be a part of this cocktail, along with the presence of "brandy, sugar, absinthe, bitters, and ice." Now, that's more like it
At some point in the late 1800s, Cognac, or brandy in general, became a scarcity in the United States due to an epidemic of phylloxera, which destroyed countless vineyards throughout France. It was during this time that a good old American whiskey, specifically that of rye, began to substitute itself into the annals of this cocktail. Throughout the city, bars and coffee houses would serve up many a Sazerac, which had nearly always included the addition of absinthe, to take Peychaud's cocktail to the next level. Enter Thomas Handy, the proprietor of the historic Sazerac House, who went mainstream throughout the city by selling pre-mixed bottles of the delicious elixir. Life was good in the city of New Orleans—until around 1912, when our country banned absinthe.
Yes, absinthe—the infamous "green fairy." For so long, this anise-flavored liquor had been demonized among the masses. It was accused of driving people insane with the wormwood herb supposedly causing psychosis for the imbibers, as if it were one of those much-touted, actual worms in RFK Jr.'s brain. No, friends, the perceived dangers of the ingestion of absinthe amounts to that of an old wives' tal—a scapegoat by the Carrie Nations of the world. You see, this scary-sounding herb contains a chemical named thujone, which can have psychoactive properties—in extremely large doses. So the good news is, you'd most certainly die of alcohol poisoning long before you ever reached that level. Unfortunately, at the time that this necessary component of the Sazerac was outlawed, the country soon entered a complete ban on the sale of alcohol—Prohibition—for 13 long years due to the ratification of the 18th Amendment. Talk about a slippery slope.
However, not to keep a good man down (or, better yet, two of them), WWI vets J. Marion Legendre and Reginald Parker developed an absinthe-substitute named Herbsaint only one year after the repeal of Prohibition. Gone were the dark days of no Sazeracs in the city of New Orleans. That's right, just as rye whiskey had replaced the Cognac in this beloved recipe, a legal anise liqueur had taken the reins from absinthe. People were enjoying the Sazerac once again, and that libation continues to this very day. Of course, the production of absinthe was legalized once again in 2007, and it's your choice which direction you want to go.
Which leads us to the recipe itself. How do you actually make a Sazerac? In case you're anxious to try this classic cocktail in the privacy of your own home, it's really all about choices and decisions. Should you use rye or Cognac, absinthe or Herbsaint, a sugar cube or simple syrup? Honestly, the only component that is universally agreed upon is that of Peychaud's bitters. No one would blame you if you simply called the whole thing off (credit to George Gershwin) and ordered one up at the Sazerac Bar or some other local purveyor of fine cocktails. They would sure be glad that you did, but, for full disclosure's sake, here are the ingredients of a Sazerac that would make St. Louis IX, King of France proud (even though he never even dreamed of such a thing):
• Chill a rocks glass, rinse it with absinthe, and discard the leftover spirit (yeah right).
• In another glass, muddle a sugar cube with some bitters, then add a jigger of rye.
• Mix well with ice, and strain into your absinthe-rinsed glass.
• Express a lemon peel and enjoy.
Ta-da! This is a prime example of the groundbreaking cocktail that launched a namesake beverage distribution company, several bars (including the current famed one located in the Roosevelt Hotel) and a must-visit museum dedicated to its history. Whether you would like to make one yourself or have someone else do it for you, you simply cannot go wrong with a drink that promises to transport you nearly 200 years into the past with every sip.
