Sazerac

A New Orleans icon and arguably the city's signature drink: rye whiskey stirred with a dissolved sugar cube and Peychaud's bitters, then strained into a chilled glass washed with absinthe and finished with expressed lemon oil. Named for the Sazerac de Forge et Fils cognac that was its original base, it shifted to rye after the 19th-century French wine blight. The absinthe rinse and discarded peel give it a bracing, anise-edged aroma over a spice-forward whiskey core. Louisiana proclaimed it the official cocktail of New Orleans in 2008.

ClassicSpirit-Forward

Ingredients

  • 2 ozRye Whiskey
  • 0.25 ozAbsinthe(rinse, excess discarded)
  • 1 pieceSugar(one cube, muddled/dissolved)
  • 2 dashAngostura Bitters(Peychaud's)

Garnish: Lemon Peel

Preparation

Stirred · Rocks · Neat

  1. 1.

    rinse

    Rinse a chilled rocks glass with the absinthe to coat the interior; discard any excess.

  2. 2.

    muddle

    In a mixing glass, dissolve the sugar cube with the Peychaud's bitters and a little of the whiskey.

  3. 3.

    stir

    Add the rye whiskey and ice; stir until well chilled.

  4. 4.

    strain

    Strain into the absinthe-rinsed rocks glass, served neat (no ice).

  5. 5.

    express

    Express a lemon peel over the surface to release its oils, then discard the peel.

Flavor Profile

spiced
54%
body
37%
heat
30%
herbal
27%
sweet
25%
bitter
17%
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