For Mardi Gras!
If you’re in the same boat as me, you won’t be makin’ it to New Orleans for Mardi Gras this year. So, to get us all into the real “spirit” of the celebrations this year, how about a famously New Orleans original cocktail, It’s probably the most famous Cocktail in New Orleans. A little like an Old Fashioned, but a bit more spice from the rye. This version combines the old traditional recipe with cognac with the newer version using rye.
Cognac to Rye, Bitters X 2
Legend has it that the “Sazerac Cocktail”, originated at the Sazerac Coffee House in New Orleans. First made with Sazerac cognac and allegedly with bitters being made by the local apothecary, Antoine Amedie Peychaud. The location changed hands several times, until around 1870. Then, Thomas Handy became its proprietor. It is around this time that the primary ingredient changed from cognac to rye whiskey, due to the phylloxera epidemic in Europe that devastated the vineyards of France.
The creation of the Sazerac has also been credited to Antoine Amédée Peychaud. A Creole apothecary who emigrated to New Orleans from the West Indies and set up shop in the French Quarter in the early 19th Century. It was a mix of aromatic bitters from an old family recipe.
One of the distinguishing features of the Sazerac Cocktail, is how it’s made. Using two separate old fashioned cocktails to mix, then strained into the next and served. Make sure you take a minute to enjoy to delicious scent of the two bitters combined together. It is positively heavenly!
Other famous New Orleans Cocktails: The Vieux Carre Cocktail: https://wp.me/p9KEfL-1VM and of course, The Ramos Fizz! Here’s a link: https://wp.me/p9KEfL-1VF
The Sazerac Cocktail
Rinse a chilled rocks glass with absinthe, swirl, discard any of the excess. Next in a mixing glass, muddle the a sugar cube with 1/2 teaspoon of water and 3 dashes of Peychaud’s bitters and 2 dashes of Angostura bitters. Add 1 1/4 ounces of rye with 1 1/4 ounces of cognac. Fill the mixing glass with ice and stir until well-chilled.
(A muddler is a great bar tool. )
Strain into the prepared glass. Garnish with a lemon twist. If you prefer, you can mix the cocktail and serve with a large cube. Top the cube with some very thin lemon peel.
Cheers!
Ingredients
- Absinthe (optional)
- 1 sugar cube
- 1/2 teaspoon water
- 3 dashes Peychaud's bitters
- 2 dashes Angostura bitters
- 1 1/4 ounces Rye Whiskey
- 1 1/4 ounces Cognac
Garnish: Lemon peel
Instructions
- Rinse a chilled rocks glass with absinthe, swirl, discard any of the excess.
- Next in a mixing glass, muddle the a sugar cube with 1/2 teaspoon of water and 3 dashes of Peychaud's bitters and 2 dashes of Angostura bitters.
- Add 1 1/4 ounces of rye with 1 1/4 ounces of cognac.
- Fill the mixing glass with ice and stir until well-chilled.
- (Optional, serve with a very large ice cube)
- Strain into the prepared glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.
- Cheers!
Karen Harris https://www.bittersaltysoursweet.com
