Considered to be one of the first cocktails, and as the legend goes, it was created by the apothecary Antoine Peychaud. Initially, brandy was the main spirit; the name came from the French brandy, Sazerac-d e-Forge et fils. This brand was imported first around the 1850s, twelve years after creating the drink, so whether it had a different name before that or someone else invented it is not that important. Sazerac is a timeless drink and is the official drink of New Orleans.
Around 1870 the primary ingredient changed from cognac to rye whiskey because of the phylloxera epidemic in Europe that devastated the vineyards of France. A few years later, a bartender, Leon Lamothe, added Absinthe to the recipe.
Sazerac

Ingredients
- 1½ oz. Rye Whiskey or Bourbon
- ¼ oz. Absinthe
- 1 cube sugar
- 3 dashes Peychaud's Bitters
- lemon peel
Instructions
- In an old-fashioned chilled glass, pour the Absinthe.
- In a mixing glass, muddle the sugar cube and the bitters.
- Add the whiskey and stir for 15-20 sec.
- In the first old-fashioned glass, swirls the Absinthe and discard it.
- Strain the contents from the mixing glass into the Absinthe coated one.
- Twist a lemon peel on top of the glass to release the essential oils and drop it in, if you like.
Notes
Photo Creative Commons Zero (CC0)
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
1Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 328Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 258mgCarbohydrates: 26gFiber: 3gSugar: 6gProtein: 4g
This data was provided and calculated by Nutritionix.