The Sazerac

Some say that the Sazerac is the first cocktail; it's certainly the first New Orleans cocktail; acknowledged by many as the home of the cocktail. New Orleans — being closely tied with France — was absinthe's home in the US.

Antoine Amadie Peychaud

Since 1793 Antoine Amadie Peychaud — a Creole apothecary with a shop in the French Quarter of New Orleans — sold his own patent medicine known as Peychaud Bitters. This was later added to a toddy with cognac, and is believed to be the first cocktail.

Demand was so strong that in 1850 a large bar by the name of The Sazerac was opened to sell the drink, and it is believed that one of the bartenders there started the addition of a few drops of absinthe to the cocktail. With this addition, the Sazerac as we know it today was born.

The Original Sazerac Cocktail

Ingredients

• 1 sugar cube or 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar
• 3 dashes Peychaud's bitters
• 60ml cognac
• Splash of La Fée Parisian Absinthe 68%
• Strip of lemon peel

Method

Pack a heavy-bottomed tumbler with cracked ice and allow to chill. In a cocktail shaker mix cracked ice, sugar, Peychaud's bitters and cognac.

Empty the glass of ice and dash in the La Fée, twirl the glass rapidly and shake out the absinthe. Enough of it will cling to the glass to impart the desired flavour. Strain into this glass the cognac mixture. Twist a lemon peel over the glass, but do not put it in the drink.

If you cannot use cognac, rye whisky or sometimes bourbon makes an excellent alternative.