The Sazerac: the Official Cocktail of New Orleans

New Orleans holds a very special place in the heart of myself and the Bar Fly. While NOLA is famous for many non-taste related things such as its architecture, its history, its music and it prominence as America’s largest party city, there is no doubt that the unique fusion of African, French, Spanish and southern Anglo-American cultures fused to create the greatest food city in America.

Food is everywhere in New Orleans and rightfully so. No other place in the U.S has so many native dishes ranging from succulent seafood po-boys from a street vendor to high class Creole dining in restaurants that have been around since the 1800’s. Indeed, Po-boys, jambalaya, crawfish etouffée, beignets with chicory coffee, gumbo, pralines, turtle soup are just a few of the numerous New Orleans classics that have been imitated the world over but still taste best down in the city by the mouth of the Mississippi.

So with all of this great food everywhere, what do the natives wash it all down with? Drinking in New Orleans deserves numerous posts. In fact, New Orleans invented the cocktail and can claim to be the birthplace of numerous ones including the Sazerac, Gin Fizz, the Hurricane and the Hand Grenade. In addition, New Orleans in its true sugar tradition has its own rum distillery and offers numerous local beers such as Abita, Dixie & Jax. Abita is one of the top micro-brews in the country and will be the focus of a future post.

Drinking in New Orleans is an art ranging from sheer drunken debauchery on Bourbon to upscale tipples at a fine Creole establishment. For now let’s focus on the oldest of all of New Orlean’s cocktails: the Sazerac.

For me, posting on the Sazarac is a bit like taking Trigonometry is to a lot of high school kids. It is, sadly, a cocktail I don’t personally enjoy, but it is a necessity. After all, the Sazerac was recently voted the official cocktail of New Orleans and also has the unique distinction of being the world’s first cocktail. That’s right – this one is the grand pappy of them all. In 1795, Antoine Amedée Peychaud came to New Orleans as a refugee from the slave uprising in Sainte Domingue (Haiti). He brought with him his famous “Peychaud” bitters and before long was serving them in his little apothecary on Royal Street with brandy into little eggcups known as coquetiers – it is from this word that the word cocktail comes and his clients were the first to enjoy them. The original name “Sazerac” stems from the use of the French brandy – Sazerac-de-Forge et Fils.

The cocktail was already gaining traction when it was modified in 1873 by Thomas Handy who replaced the brandy with Sazerac Rye whiskey and added a swirl of absinthe to the mix. The ban of absinthe in Louisiana in 1912 followed by Prohibition shortly thereafter morphed the drink once more. Today, a Sazerac is made from rye whiskey, simple syrup, Peychaud bitters and a touch of absinthe (legalized again minus the good stuff that made Edgar Allan Poe go whack while writing). Sometimes Pernod is substituted for the absinthe.

In all cases, trying a Sazerac is a must as it holds a special place in the history of New Orleans and drinks in general. Rumor has it that the best one in the world can be found at the just re-opened Roosevelt hotel in New Orleans.

I only tried the Sazerac once and honestly didn’t care for it. It was a classic case of it being a flavor that didn’t agree with me. I’m sure the drink was well made as the bartender was very knowledgeable, the food was incredible and the location (Coops Place on Decatur in the Quarter – incredible gumbo and a jambalaya so good it’s beyond comprehension) was a place frequented by locals who know their food and drinks. The point is that I tried it and will probably try it again in the future . . . just to be sure.

I hope that you get to try the Sazerac and hope that it pleases you. I’d blog more about it, but I am in New Orleans and have better things to do . . . . .I can hear the boozy whisper of Bourbon Street calling….