Sazerac

A Sazerac cocktail on a counter inside a rustic apothecary shop

June 17, 2024by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

Drink Donnybrook: The Sazerac

Drink Donnybrook: The Sazerac

by David Klemt

That’s quite a full Sazerac, but I’m more interested in what this particular AI platform thinks that powder next to the cocktail is…

We celebrate the Sazerac, nearly 200 years old and known to many as America’s first cocktail, on Sazerac Cocktail Day, which falls on a Sunday this year.

Refreshingly, we know who should credit for its creation. Further, we can trace it back to a year, and even a location.

In that regard, this won’t be like other Drink Donnybrook articles. The only bold, debate-inducing claims I can really make relate to the base spirit, year of creation, and that my first-ever Sazerac was awful. Oddly, this less-than-stellar Sazerac was made for me at an incredibly popular bar in New Orleans.

Well, sometimes bartenders have off days. I’ve been back to that bar, and had a great time with a great Sazerac. It’s absinthe under the bridge.

Speaking of absinthe, that anise-flavored spirit is a core element of this classic cocktail. Much like some people say “No Negroni without Campari,” there’s no Sazerac without an absinthe rinse.

Now, onto the base of this legendary drink. While bartenders have been making it with rye whiskey for decades, the original recipe calls for Cognac. More specifically, it was made with Sazerac de Forge & Fils. Voila—the drink bears the name of the brandy used at its creation. (Hey, speaking of brandy, check out my Donnybrook article about the Brandy Alexander.)

Cold water, an ice cube, and Peychaud’s bitters round out the ingredients list for a Sazerac. And it’s that last item that reveals the drink’s creator.

The Official Cocktail of New Orleans

Roughly a decade into the 1800s, Antoine Peychaud arrived in New Orleans, Louisiana. Reliable records are a bit difficult to come by, so we don’t know his precise arrival date.

However, historians seem confident that Peychaud did open an apothecary in New Orleans in 1832. (According to one source I came across, Pharmacie Peychaud was opened in 1841.) The next time you’re in NOLA, you can visit the location of said apothecary: 437 Royal Street. Originally, the address was 123 Royal Street. Today, it’s the home of James H. Cohen Antique Weapons & Rare Coins. It’s a fun spot to pop into, by the way.

As you’re likely well aware, apothecaries were precursors to pharmacists and chemists. They served their communities from ye olde apothecary shoppes, and their medicine often consisted of alcohol.

Peychaud crafted his namesake bitters and used them to create an elixir that treated his customers’ illnesses. That medicinal elixir would become the Sazerac. Again, this potion was made with Sazerac de Forge & Fils Cognac, absinthe, and Peychaud’s bitters.

Intriguingly (to me), the Sazerac House—a must-see attraction in NOLA—claims the Sazerac became famous in the 1850s at the Sazerac Coffee House. So, it could’ve taken the Sazerac 20 years to evolve from medicine to cocktail.

On the topic of cocktails, some people attribute Peychaud with inventing the word “cocktail.” Many historians have labeled this claim as false.

Over time, it became difficult to source the cocktail’s eponymous brandy, so the recipe changed to rye whiskey. Some bartenders craft their Sazeracs with other spirits, and will even split their bases. For example, you should try a Sazerac made with a split base of Cognac and rye.

Original Sazerac

Behold, the original Sazerac cocktail recipe.

2 oz. Sazerac de Forge & Fils Cognac
3 to 4 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters
0.5 teaspoon Cold water
1 Sugar cube
Absinthe, to rinse
Lemon peel, to garnish

You’ll want to have chilled rocks glasses on hand for this cocktail. To start, rinse the glass with absinthe. In a mixing glass, muddle the bitters, water, and sugar cube. Add ice and the Cognac to the mixing glass, and stir until well chilled. Strain, garnish, and serve.

As stated earlier, most modern-day recipes call for rye whiskey rather than Cognac. Experiment with bases—including splits—to craft your signature Sazerac.

In 2008, lawmakers in Louisiana passed legislation that made the Sazerac the Official Cocktail of New Orleans. Sazerac Cocktail Day is on June 23, which falls on a Sunday in 2024. Cheers!

Image: Shutterstock. Disclaimer: This image was generated by an Artificial Intelligence (AI) system.

May 18, 2022by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

Drinks for Your World Whisky Day Menu

Drinks for Your World Whisky Day Menu

by David Klemt

This Saturday is the eleventh annual celebration of World Whisky Day, the perfect day to highlight your whisky and cocktail menus.

One revenue-generating method of drawing in guests is a promotion showcasing popular, lesser-known, or rare whiskies. Operators can also create a whisky and beer combo promotion.

Of course, there’s also the specialty cocktail menu. There are a few different approaches to this promotion.

An operator and their bar team can focus on one specific cocktail, offering three or four “takes” on it. Another way to make this work is to take the same cocktail and feature a different whisky in each one.

A different approach is to create a World Whisky Day menu consisting of three or more of the most popular whisky cocktails. To help you identify which drinks to feature we looked into the top whisky drinks. Check them out below.

Old Fashioned

C’mon—you knew this was going to be on the list before you read past the title of this article. Drinks Digest ranked the Old Fashioned the number-one cocktail of 2021.

VinePair‘s list didn’t rank their most-popular cocktails overtly but this classic got its expected mention.

Manhattan

Just like the Old Fashioned, you expected this drink to make this list. While it can certainly be made with bourbon or an array of single malt American whiskies, the Manhattan shines when made with rye.

Whisky Sour

As Drinks International points out, the Whisky Sour may not be the top drink in most bars. In fact, it may not make it into their top three.

However, the simple but refreshing Whisky Sour is at least in the top ten of several bars, making it a solid choice for your specialty menu.

Boulevardier

Want to get some of the cocktail aficionados among your guests to flip out? Tell them loudly and confidently that the Boulevardier is better than the Negroni. That’ll certainly get them talking.

Or, hey, don’t do that. Just perfect this bourbon cocktail, a cousin of the Negroni, and highlight your build for World Whisky Day.

Mint Julep

The Kentucky Derby may be over but summer is just around the corner. People are still craving this centuries-old cocktail and VinePair called it “essential” last year.

Like many classics, the Sazerac was “medicinal” when it was first created in the 1830s. In 2008, this drink was made the official cocktail of New Orleans by the Louisiana state legislature.

The Sazerac is another cocktail recipe that VinePair said was an essential one for bars in 2021.

Vieux Carré

It’s difficult to overstate the important role New Orleans has played and continues to play in American cocktail culture.

The recipe, created about 100 years after the Sazerac, combines American whisky (rye, traditionally), Cognac, Bénédictine, sweet vermouth, and Peychaud’s bitters.

Penicillin

Created by Sam Ross when he was behind the stick at Milk & Honey, this is my favorite whisky cocktail. The recipe was one of Punch’s most popular last year, and it was on Drinks International’s top 50 list for 2021.

On a personal note, this is one of my all-time favorite whisky cocktails. In fact, the Penicillin is one of my favorite cocktails in general.

Honorable Mentions

These may not be top sellers for most bars (if any) but they’re worth consideration for World Whisky Day.

The Chauncey is a 1:1:1:1 combination of rye whisky, Cognac, gin, and sweet vermouth plus two dashes of orange bitters, served up.

Of course, there’s also the Mule, which lends itself to an incredible number of riffs. Select a whisky or two to come up with specialty Mules of your own.

Irish whisky stands out in an Irish coffee, which can be served iced/frozen when it’s hot outside.

And then we have the Rob Roy. If you want to be glib about it, this is a Manhattan made with Scotch rather than rye whisky.

Your Own Data

There’s an excellent resource for determining what drinks to feature at your restaurant or bar. It’s quite literally at your fingertips: your POS.

If you want to know what your guests are drinking and what they want, run a report.

How deep you get into the data is up to you, of course. Monthly, quarterly, seasonally, annually… There are myriad methods to determine your World Whisky Day’s best options.

Sure, you can probably safely assume that your top whisky cocktails are the same as those above. But why not be absolutely certain with your own data? You invest money and time into your POS—wring everything you can out of it.

Also, your bar team and servers. Ask them what whiskies guests have been asking for that you don’t have.

Use your POS to identify the whiskies gathering dust in your stockroom, then find a way to move them quickly (a well-priced LTO should work) and replace them with what guests want.

Image: YesMore Content on Unsplash

Sazerac cocktail and mixing glass on bar

March 22, 2022by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

National Cocktails: Canada & America

National Cocktails: Canada & America

by David Klemt

We’re taking a look at two cocktails that can trace their roots to America and Canada for this year’s National Cocktail Day.

Further, KRG Hospitality has a headquarters in each country. So, we’ll be focusing on the cocktails for which Canada and America are known.

Celebrate National Cocktail Day, March 24, with the recipes below. Cheers!

Canada’s Official Cocktail

Let’s kick things off with Canada. There’s no cocktail with as close an association to the Great White North as the Caesar.

In fact, it’s Canada’s national cocktail. So ubiquitous, it’s woven into the fabric of Canadian pop culture.

Consider this Letterkenny exchange as exhibit A:

Darryl: “I’d have a Bloody Caesar.”

Wayne: “Do you wanna know what? I’d have a Caesar, too.”

Squirrely Dan: “I could have a Caesar if you guys are havin’ Caesars.”

Darryl: “Hard to see a Caesar and not want a Caesar.”

Wayne: “That’s actually how they market Caesars.”

According to cocktail lore, the city of Calgary and province of Alberta get to call themselves the home of the Caesar.

Disputed Origins

As the story goes, Walter Chell invented the cocktail in 1969. Chell was a restaurant manager at the Calgary Inn, now a Westin property.

Oh, wait. There’s also Walter Winchell and the Smirnoff Smiler cocktail. Tracing mentions back to 1953, this drink is made with vodka, tomato juice, clam juice, and Worcestershire sauce.

Hang on… In 1959, Charles Addams—y’know, the creator of the Addams Family—said he created the Gravel Gertie in Manhattan, New York. This cocktail calls for vodka to be mixed with tomato juice, clam juice, and Tabasco sauce.

Well, Chell was onto something when he combined every ingredient in the Smiler and Gertie. To me, this an original that stands far above any perceived predecessors.

Chell also crafted the recipe using a “rule of four”:

one shot of vodka;
two dashes of hot sauce;
three dashes of salt and pepper; and
four dashes of Worcestershire sauce

Prepare a glass with a celery salt or salt and pepper rim. Add ice, then add the above ingredients. Top with Caesar mix (Clamato juice, these days), and garnish with a celery stock and lime.

America’s Unofficial Cocktail

Now, onward to America. So, we don’t have an official national cocktail here. Clearly, our neighbors to the north know how to have more fun.

We have a native spirit—bourbon—but that’s where it ends.

However, we do have New Orleans. And in New Orleans we have the birthplace of American hospitality.

We have something else in New Orleans. In 2008, the Louisiana state senate passed a bill that named an official cocktail for the city.

That cocktail? The Sazerac.

Two Bases, One Drink

Cocktail historians will tell you that there are essentially two recipes for the Sazerac. They’ll also tell you that the origins of this cocktail are under dispute.

Are you beginning to see a pattern with cocktail history? It’s never clear, is it?

First, let’s address the original, assuming it’s America’s first (or at least oldest known) cocktail. From the 1850s to 1870s, it was made with Cognac. And not just any Cognac, Sazerac de Forge et Fils.

Depending on who you ask, either bar owner Aaron Bird or Antoine Amedie Peychaud invented the Sazerac. The cocktail recipe includes two dashes of Peychaud’s Bitters, so it’s easy to understand why some credit Peychaud with creating this drink.

Then, there’s the version that took off in the 1870s. Again, depending on the source, either American tastes changed or a phylloxera outbreak affected Cognac production. Perhaps both are true, converging to alter the Sazerac recipe.

Either way, rye whiskey replaced absinthe, and Herbsaint replaced the absinthe. Some bartenders also substitute bourbon for the rye.

The Recipe

It’s not difficult to make a Sazerac, just like it isn’t difficult to find one in New Orleans.

You’ll need two Old Fashioned (aka rocks) glasses, or one Old Fashioned and a mixing glass.

Rinse a chilled glass with absinthe or Herbsaint, and add ice. In the mixing glass or second glass, add ice, two ounces of Cognac, rye whiskey or bourbon, a half-ounce of simply syrup, and three dashes of Peychaud’s Bitters. Stir until well chilled.

Before straining, discard the ice and any excess absinthe or Hersaint from the prepared glass. Now, strain into prepared glass, express a lemon peel, and use that peel as garnish.

Alternatively, you can split the base and do Cognac and rye or bourbon, paying homage to each version of the Sazerac.

Image: Johann Trasch on Unsplash