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DRINKS FEATURES
FEATURED COCKTAIL
SAZERAC
The Sazerac originated in New Orleans in the 1800’s, and is widely recognised as the world’s first ever cocktail. It was invented by a Creole pharmacist called Antoine Peychaud, who made bitters from an old family recipe to relieve the ails of his customers. He concocted a drink for his friends using Cognac, Absinthe, sugar and of course his famous bitters – and the world’s first cocktail was born.
Before long demand for this drink led it to be served in the bars throughout the city - euphemistically called ‘coffee houses’ in those days! One of these ‘coffee houses’ used to import a brand of Cognac called ‘Sazerac-du-forge et fils’, and this led to it being known as Sazerac Coffee House. The bar was big enough to accommodate twelve bartenders all mixing Peychaud’s cocktail for the customers, and people began to call the cocktail ‘The Sazerac’ after the coffee house where it was most popular.
Around 1870, the Sazerac Coffee House changed hands and the new proprietor changed the primary ingredient from Cognac to Rye Whiskey, partly because Cognac had become hard to get hold of and partly because American tastes had changed. Eventually Absinthe was replaced with a local pastis called Herbsaint, but Pernod will work just as well.
This is an exquisite cocktail to be savoured slowly. As you sip it you come across layer after layer of flavours: the glowing burn of the rye infused with spice and honey; the bite of the bitters balanced with the sweetness of the sugar; the subtle yet complex taste of the anise underneath, and the perfume of the lemon oil from the twist. It feels like a symphony in your mouth!
Even though the Hurricane is probably the most famous New Orleans cocktail, the locals always like to say, “Hurricanes are for tourists, Sazeracs are for natives.” |
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