Presented by Cooks’ World and Pinnacle Wine & Liquor

I have never lived in New Orleans but have had the good fortune to visit a few times, particularly during my years living in nearby Houston; both cities are situated nearly on the edge of the Gulf of Mexico—also known as The Nation’s Humidifier. Summers there are blistering hot, with humidity so thick that navigating through it can feel like wallowing in a huge, warm, damp cotton ball. Before long, one learns to ignore the trickle of perspiration down the small of one’s back. There, at the Sazerac House on the edge of the French Quarter, is where I had my first Sazerac cocktail one steamy July afternoon. 

It seems counterintuitive, in that hothouse summer, to seek comfort in a cocktail that is almost pure whiskey and served up, not on the rocks, but the Sazerac cocktail is so satisfying and popular that in 2008, the Louisiana State Legislature declared it the Official Cocktail of New Orleans. Properly mixed and chilled, it rewards indulgence with a heat-proof glow. 

As with most classic cocktails, the Sazerac’s history before about 1900 is murky and arguable. Here’s one brief article about it, but I especially recommend the essay by cocktail historian David Wondrich in his excellent Oxford Companion to Spirits & Cocktails. It’s fairly certain that the “proto-Sazerac” was based on Sazerac de Forge Cognac and that it incorporated Antoine Peychaud’s proprietary bitters. The rinse of absinthe in the glass (another bow to the city’s French heritage) appeared sometime during the second half of the 19th century. The drink as we know it today showed up in 1895 and is credited to The Sazerac House’s then-bartender and co-owner Vincent Miret. When Miret died in 1899, his partner Billy Wilkinson took over the bar, and during his tenure there, the “Sazerac Whisky Cocktail” became the Sazerac cocktail.

Following Prohibition and World War II, the Sazerac took on a more local flavor. Absinthe was banned in the United States in 1912, so New Orleans entrepreneur J. Marion Legendre created Herbsaint—an absinthe substitute that provides the anise flavors and aromas of absinthe but omits the then-suspect wormwood (falsely rumored to cause hallucinations and seizures). In 2007, the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau legalized absinthe again based on evidence that it was no more dangerous than other available spirits. (Fun fact: Sage—that harmless herb—contains more thujone on a parts-per-million basis than absinthe.)

That brings us to the recipe itself. According to David Wondrich, this is the recipe popularized by Messrs. Miret and Wilkinson at The Sazerac House around 1900. Of note, I prefer to use the optional maraschino liqueur. 

THE SAZERAC COCKTAIL
2 oz Bottled in Bond Rye
¼ oz Rich simple syrup (2:1 sugar to water)
1 dash (3 ml) Maraschino liqueur (optional)
2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
1 dash Angostura bitters
Absinthe or Herbsaint to rinse the glass

Chill a rocks or Old Fashioned glass in your freezer ahead of time, or fill the glass with ice and water and set it aside while you mix. In another glass or a mixing glass, combine and stir all of the ingredients except the absinthe with ice.

Discard the ice from the set-aside glass and rinse it with absinthe, discarding the excess afterward. Strain the mixed drink into the absinthe-washed glass (with no ice—this is an ‘up’ drink). Garnish with a twist of lemon zest.

About our Cocktail of the Week partners—shop local and independent!
Cooks’ World and Pinnacle Wine & Liquor are less than a mile from each other, on Monroe Avenue near Twelve Corners in Brighton.

Cooks’ World, in business since 1978, is Rochester’s premier retailer of dining, kitchen, and cooking products, including a complete selection of glassware, mixology tools, and accessories for wine and spirits lovers. Follow Cooks’ World on Facebook and Instagram. Sign up here to receive Cooks’ World’s daily email specials and other news. 

Pinnacle Wine & Liquor, in business since 1997, offers a thoughtfully curated selection of spirits and wine from around the world, with a savvy staff to assist in your selection and encourage you along your cocktail and wine journey. Follow Pinnacle on Facebook and Instagram. For the inside track on Pinnacle’s spirits sales, send two text messages to (585)765-7546:
— Text the word “bourbon,” to receive weekly text messages offering the chance to buy rare or allocated whiskies or special prices on popular products.
—Text the word “spirits,” to receive roughly monthly offers on fine spirits other than whiskies.