This Sazerac drink recipe is a stiff one composed of an absinthe rinse, water, demerara sugar, Peychaud’s bitters, rye, cognac, and orange peel. It’s heady, aromatic, and has layers of flavors pretty complex for such a simple drink.
Jump to RecipeWhen you smell and taste all the separate ingredients by themselves, it’s hard to believe everything will combine in a tasty cocktail.
The Old Fashioned has been my favorite cocktail for a long time. But now it has to move over a little to make room for a tie. Because the Sazerac is here. It’s slightly more complicated to make than an Old Fashioned but still fairly simple.
The Classic Sazerac Drink Recipe
A classic Sazerac drink recipe contains:
- An absinthe rinse in a chilled glass
- Sugar cube
- Peychaud’s bitters
- Rye whiskey
- Cognac
- Lemon peel
Like with all classics, there are some strongly held opinions on what should and should not be in a Sazerac.
Some versions add Angostura bitters along with the Peychaud. Others ask for an orange peel instead of a lemon, which seems to be incredibly offensive to the writer of this Food and Wine article.
My Sazerac Drink Recipe
My recipe is based on the list of ingredients of a Sazerac I had at the Preserve in Winters, California. Because I really enjoyed it and wanted to make a similar tasting Sazerac.
It diverged from the classic in two ways:
- It contained an orange peel
- Demerara sugar was used instead of a sugar cube
Because I read that one article from Food and Wine that vehemently opposed using an orange peel, I decided to taste test Sazeracs made with orange and lemon peels. My family (myself included), liked the orange peel versions better.
I like to use demerara sugar in baking for its slight molasses and caramelized taste. That same reason is at work in the cocktail. Lots of whiskeys have wonderful caramel notes and demerara sugar helps brings that out.
Rye whiskey is the traditional spirit for the Sazerac. The first couple of months I was making it though, I used bourbon because that’s what I usually have in my liquor cabinet.
So out of curiosity, I also tested Sazeracs with different whiskeys:
- Savage & Cooke Lip Service (rye whiskey)
- Savage & Cooke The Burning Chair (bourbon)
- Wild Turkey 101 (bourbon)
Both Savage & Cooke whiskeys created smoother Sazeracs that were favored over Wild Turkey. But when it came down to narrowing between the rye or the bourbon, there wasn’t any particular favorite.
So, if you only have bourbon and don’t feel like buying rye to make a Sazerac, I say you’re fine.
Ingredients
- Chilled rocks glass (place it in the freezer for at least 5 minutes)
- 1 teaspoon absinthe (I used St. George Absinthe Verte)
- 1 teaspoon demerara sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cold water
- 4 to 6 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
- 1 and 1/4 oz rye whiskey*
- 1 and 1/4 oz cognac
- Handful of ice
- Orange peel
Instructions
- Add the absinthe to the chilled rocks glass and swirl and roll it until the absinthe has coated the glass (try to get the whole glass coated). Set aside.
- In a metal shaker or glass mixing vessel, muddle the sugar, cold water, and Peychaud’s bitters together until most of the sugar is dissolved.
- Add the whiskey, cognac, and ice. Stir for 20 t0 30 seconds until the metal shaker or mixing vessel is icy cold and sweating.
- Strain into the prepared rocks glass. Take the orange peel and twist it over and slightly inside the rocks glass, dispersing the aroma. Drop the orange peel into the glass and serve.
National Absinthe Day Meal and Cocktail Pairing
This Galentine’s or Valentine’s Day, I had planned on creating a simple cocktail and main dish pairing.
Drinking a glass of wine with a homemade meal always feels like a treat. But drinking a cocktail with a main dish that is built around a common theme feels even fancier.
But recipe testing took too long and I didn’t get everything done in time. However, there’s always next year and March 5th is National Absinthe Day, which is the ingredient that all the recipes are built around.
Here are the recipes that were created to go with each other:
- Caramelized Fennel & Onion Skillet Pizza Recipe
- Caramelized Onion and Fennel Dip with Goat Cheese
- Sazerac Drink Recipe
- At First Blush Gin Sour
Sazerac Drink Recipe
Ingredients
- Chilled rocks glass place it in the freezer for at least 5 minutes
- 1 teaspoon absinthe I used St. George Absinthe Verte
- 1 teaspoon demerara sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cold water
- 4 to 6 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
- 1 and 1/4 ounce rye whiskey*
- 1 and 1/4 ounce cognac
- Handful of ice
- Orange peel
Instructions
- Add the absinthe to the chilled rocks glass and swirl and roll it until the absinthe has coated the glass (try to get the whole glass coated). Set aside.
- In a metal shaker or glass mixing vessel, muddle the sugar, cold water, and Peychaud’s bitters together until most of the sugar is dissolved.
- Add the whiskey, cognac, and ice. Stir for 20 t0 30 seconds until the metal shaker or mixing vessel is icy cold and sweating.
- Strain into the prepared rocks glass. Take the orange peel and twist it over and slightly inside the rocks glass, dispersing the aroma. Drop the orange peel into the glass and serve.
Notes
