Sazerac Cocktail
Sazerac Cocktail
From the St. Kilian "classic whisky cocktails" series
Of course, we didn't miss the chance to create a Sazerac variation with our single malt whisky.
For this you need:
- 5.5 cl St. Kilian Single Malt Whisky mild recipe (e.g. Signature Edition TEN)
- 0.5 cl absinthe
- 2 dashes orange bitters
- 1 cl cane sugar syrup
Preparation of the Sazerac Cocktail St. Kilian Style
Put the ingredients in a mixing glass, stir with ice cubes until the drink is ice cold and then strain into a tumbler with a large ice cube.
As a garnish, we use a dried lime slice and a maraschino cherry.
At its best, a good drink always has a good story. An anecdote that you like to tell while enjoying the drink or that you listen to attentively while the bartender tells it.
Myth or truth - what is behind the story of the Sazerac cocktail?
The Sazerac also brings this good story with it. However, it has a small catch - it is not true.
On the road to world fame in New Orleans
According to the myth surrounding the Sazerac cocktail, the recipe for this classic cocktail goes back to Antoine Peychaud, the creator of the world-famous Pechaud's Bitters. He is said to have fled to New Orleans in the 1790s after an uprising in his homeland. Once there, he served his bitters with cognac in a double-sided egg cup as a remedy for stomach ailments. According to this legend, the jigger later developed from this egg cup.
The myth goes on to say that the businessman John B. Schiller, the representative of the cognac "Sazerac-de-Forge" from Limoges in France, opened the "Sazerac Coffee House" in New Orleans and served the cocktail there with Peychaud's bitters and brandy. This quickly became known as the Sazerac Cocktail.
When Thomas Handy took over the Coffee House in 1870, he also changed the recipe and replaced the brandy with rye whiskey. He also added a small splash of absinthe to the drink. Because of this history, it is often said that the Sazerac is one of the oldest mixed drinks .
Sazerac Cocktail: From Myth to Truth
Unfortunately, this story is not true - Antoine Peychaud did not come to New Orleans in 1793, as he was born 10 years later. Nor are there any records of a drink called the Sazerac Cocktail from the mid-19th century.
But then what is behind the story of the Sazerac cocktail?
Drinks with brandy and absinthe were already being served in New Orleans in the mid-19th century. These became known as Improved Cocktails in the 1870s. You can still order them in this form in selected bars today.
In the 1890s, companies successfully introduced bottled cocktails to the market. The Sazerac House company saw its chance and marketed various bottled cocktails under the name Sazerac Cocktails, such as a Manhattan Cocktail or a Vermouth Cocktail. Thus, the Sazerac Cocktail was initially only a brand name and not a designation for a special drink.
This changed after the end of Prohibition in 1933, when the Sazerac Company started selling bottled cocktails again. This time not many different cocktails, but a whisky-based drink called the Sazerac Cocktail. However, if you look at the recipes that have been handed down, you quickly realise that a classic, uniform recipe has not been handed down. Whiskey was mainly used, but vermouth or rum could also be added. As a rule, bitters and absinthe were added and the drink was refined with sugar or citrus oils. So there is no clearly defined recipe.
So the great myth about the "oldest cocktail in the world" is nothing but a myth . Probably created for marketing reasons. However, when a Sazerac is prepared skilfully, we are happy to let the myth be a myth and would definitely not want to miss the bar classic !
Classic Sazerac Cocktail recipe & preparation:
- 6 cl Rye Whiskey
- 0.5 cl absinthe
- 2 dashes Peychaud's bitters
- 0.5 cl cane sugar syrup
Put the ingredients in a mixing glass, stir with ice cubes until the drink is ice cold and then strain into a tumbler with a large ice cube.
Lemon peel is classically used as a garnish.