Ingredients
- 2-3 dashesPeychaud's BittersEssential for authentic Sazerac
- RinseAbsintheFor glass rinseSubstitute: Herbsaint, Pastis
- 2 ozRye WhiskeyAmerican rye whiskeySubstitute: Cognac traditional
- 1 cubeSugar CubeWhite sugar cubeSubstitute: Simple syrup 1/4 oz
Instructions
- Rinse chilled old fashioned glass with Herbsaint or absinthe, swirl to coat interior, discard excess
Glass should have subtle opalescent coating
- In mixing glass, muddle sugar cube with 3 dashes Peychaud's bitters
- Add 2 oz rye whiskey and fill with ice
- Stir until well chilled and properly diluted
- Strain into prepared rinsed glass (no ice)
Traditionally served neat after rinse
- Express lemon peel oils over drink and discard peel
Technique Notes
Rinse and discard, and the finished drink takes no ice. Absinthe left pooling in the glass takes over, and ice in the serving glass makes it a different drink.
Why the Sazerac Works
Peychaud's anise-and-cherry profile is the New Orleans counterpoint to Angostura's clove, and the absinthe rinse lifts those same anise notes into the nose before the first sip. Rye's spice carries the bitters where bourbon's sweetness would muffle them; sugar exists only to make the bitters legible.
Discover more
Explore classic cocktailsFeatured Bitters
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Featured Recipe Collections
Essential Bitters Cocktails
Ten drinks, and the bitter ingredient does a different job from one to the next. In the Old Fashioned and the Manhattan it is a seasoning, a couple of dashes to sharpen the spirit. In the Negroni and the Boulevardier it carries the drink. In the Sazerac it sets the flavour the rest of the drink is built around, with rye and absinthe behind it. In the Trinidad Sour it is the base spirit itself. Four jobs, one kind of ingredient.
New Orleans Creole Masters
Four New Orleans drinks: the Sazerac and the Vieux Carré, both on Peychaud's, Joseph Santini's Brandy Crusta, and La Louisiane, which takes Peychaud's and absinthe together.