The Classic Cocktail That Nestled Its Way Into New Orleans Culture
NEWS
BY ANDY HUME
The Sazerac, a cousin to the classic old fashioned, became New Orleans' official cocktail in 2008. However, the cocktail has quite a long history.
A standard recipe for Sazerac features rye whiskey, sugar, Peychaud's bitters, and an absinthe or Herbsaint rinse. The rye whiskey gives it a clean and spicy flavor.
The earliest record of the name is from 1852, when the Sazerac House was mentioned in the press. It became the sole distributor of Sazerac and trademarked the name Sazerac in 1900.
The original recipe used French brandy, but it was eventually swapped for American rye whiskey — possibly due to an outbreak of phylloxera, an insect plague that ravaged vineyards.
Today, the Sazerac Company makes Sazerac rye whiskey, Peychaud's bitters, and Herbsaint liqueur, all of which are considered vital for a modern Sazerac cocktail.