Brain Droppings: The Sazerac

The SAZERAC - the official cocktail of New Orleans, as it is served at The Sazerac Bar at The Roosevelt Hotel, an art-deco masterpiece (below)

The SAZERAC is the official cocktail of New Orleans (by legislative decree). It's origins are as interesting as the taste is delicious. It is considered to be the oldest known American cocktail.

The sazerac, or whiskey cocktail, derives it's name from one of the original ingredients: Sazerac-de-Forge et Fils Cognac. It is believed to have been first served at The Merchants Exchange Coffee House, a well-known New Orleans tavern. Around 1850, it's proprietor, Aaron Bird, began serving a mixture of the imported sazerac cognac, sugar, and bitters made fresh down the street by druggist, Antoine Amedie Peychaud. Another key ingredient he used was the legendary absinthe. Bird called it The Sazerac Cocktail. When a blight destroyed most of the cognac grapes in the late 19th Century, sazerac was replaced with rye whiskey, which it is mostly served with today. This explains the synomym, whiskey cocktail. When absinthe was banned in the early 20th Century, it was replaced mostly with local Herbsaint. Although the ban on absinthe has been lifted, Herbsaint is still frequently used. Properly and ARTFULLY, prepared (it involves muddling the bitters and sugar, chilling the whiskey perfectly, and lining the glass with a coating of absinthe), the elixir is then garnished with a lemon peal and served in an Old Fashioned tumbler. Man, I just made my mouth water!

Virtually any establishment in New Orleans that's worth it's gumbo will serve you a sazerac. But there are just a few that can lay the claim of making THE BEST. From my experience, here are 3: Galetoire's, which serves theirs on ice (which I thought would be great in the summer). Arnaud's, one of New Orleans oldest and best restaurants. And the very appropriately named, Sazerac Bar at the Roosevelt Hotel, a restored art-deco masterpiece. When perfectly crafted, as it is at these establishments, it's a little like sipping a bit of New Orleans itself. The taste has a sweetness to it, but not too much - the bitters keeps that in check. And the whiskey makes it very heady, if not downright intoxicating. Ah, NOLA!

Since I'm writing this at Christmas time, I think I'll add something to my Christmas list: the ingredients, including the absinthe, to make sazeracs! I've been a good boy. I deserve it. :)