When I think of New Orleans three things usually come to my mind: beads, creole cooking and cocktails. The most famous of the cocktails is probably the Ramos Gin Fizz and then perhaps the Hurricane unfortunately, the Sazerac which might be the best cocktail created in New Orleans hasn’t really gotten the commercial attention that it deserves but that trend seems to be changing. As well crafted cocktails, once defunct spirits and an ever widening selection of bitters have all seen recent major revivals.
The Sazerac is an easy drink to make but you will need the proper ingredients for an authentic preparation. Perhaps most important are Peychaud’s cocktail bitters which can be purchased at Kegwworks for a mere $4.75. You’ll also need some Absinthe and as you’re probably aware the US legal ban on authentic Absinthe containing wormwood has ended and therefore there is no reason that you should not be able to purchase one of the now many brands available. Lucid which is excellent, is probably the most widely available authentic Absinthe. Finally, you’ll need some rye whiskey, my preference for cocktail rye is the very fairly priced Rittenhouse bonded, but you should use what’s available and if you are able to find the Sazerac brand whiskey, by all means use that.
The Sazerac
2 oz rye whiskey
a few dashes of Absinthe
1 sugar cube or a teaspoon of bar sugar
2-3 dashes Peychaud’s cocktail bitters
a lemon twist
You need two rocks glasses to properly make this drink. Fill the first one with ice cubes and water and let it sit to chill the glass. In the second glass add either your sugar cube, or teaspoon of sugar, the bitters and just enough water so that the sugar is able to dissolve. Stir until the sugar has fully dissolved and then add your rye and cracked ice. Stir until well chilled. Empty the ice and water from the first glass and pour a few drops of Absinthe into it. Roll the glass around so that the Absinthe evenly coats it (I keep a little spray bottle filled Absinthe so that when I make this drink I can just mist the glass) pour out the remaining Absinthe (or drink it) and strain they rye mixture into the chilled, Absinthe coated glass. Use either a channel knife or vegetable peeler to get a nice strip of lemon rind minus the bitter pith. You’ll want to do this over the glass so that the essential oils in the lemon peel will become expressed over the drink. You may then either drop the lemon rind in t the drink or dispose of it. Enjoy!
Filed under: Booze | Tagged: Beads Creole Food, Channel knife, Hurricane, Kegworks Absinthe, lemon peel, Lucid Absinthe, New Orleans, Peychaud Bitters, Ramos Gin Fizz, Rittenhouse Bonded Whiskey, Sazerac whiskey, vegtable peeler
