

Fortunately, with few ingredients, it's also an easy cocktail to master. The sweetness makes it smoother than a lot of other whiskey-based drinks, though it remains a strong-jawed, spirit-forward option. Our guess is human beings will be drinking Old Fashioneds until end times, because the damned drink will never not be cool.Īll of which is to say, the Old Fashioned is a cocktail that's been around for a while, and for good reason. Since those sepia-toned days, the Old Fashioned has enjoyed illustrious comebacks as new generations of boozers have fallen for its simple charm. Yes, even the old-timers of the 1880s considered it to be an old-school drink. And 80 years later, the name “Old Fashioned” started getting tossed around in bars to describe said cocktail recipe. It was that particular (and rather unremarkable) recipe that appeared alongside the first-ever printed use of the word “cocktail” way back in 1806. This humble concoction of four ingredients-whiskey, sugar, bitters, and water-is quite literally the cocktail that started it all. Go light on both, do NOT substitute bourbon for the rye, and you will have true ambrosia.You cannot get more classic than a classic Old Fashioned. Highly recommend go lighter on the sugar (just a light sprinkle) and keep the bitters to two shakes rather than four, otherwise it will taste like cough syrup. However, I find the above recipe heavyhanded: Too sweet and too heavy on the bitters. One of the greatest of all cocktails regardless of which was THE first. And appearance is another disappointment-why not serve it straight up in a martini-style glass to add some class? (however, I am still sipping. I think I find the bitters and the Pernod conflict and the lovely whisky taste is lost in the melee. It may appeal to a certain palate, but in my case, as enamoured I am of all the ingredients themselves, this combination is not a winner. Well, I have just mixed and poured this and after the first few sips am very convinced I will never make this drink again. (It looks like a freaking Aperol cocktail godsake) but why is it red? Can you please not photoshop the cocktail - honestly people. He prefers sugar over simple syrup because it lets you sweeten the drink without diluting it. The following Sazerac drink recipe comes from Chris McMillian, a fourth-generation bartender and cofounder of The Museum of the American Cocktail in New Orleans. While some contemporary drinkers compare the Sazerac to the old-fashioned, another spirit-forward whiskey cocktail served in a rocks glass, the latter is usually made with bourbon and always with Angostura bitters, which have a less fruity flavor profile. Whether Peychaud can be credited with inventing the classic Sazerac recipe is a debate among drinks historians, but his eponymous bitters remain crucial to modern iterations. They were invented by Antoine Amédée Peychaud, a Creole apothecary who moved to Louisiana from what is now Haiti and opened an eponymous pharmacy in New Orleans in 1832. However, when the wormwood-tinged spirit was temporarily banned in the US in the 20th century, liqueurs like Herbsaint or Pernod became the standard for this rye whiskey cocktail.Īnise-scented Peychaud’s bitters are another Sazerac ingredient with deep New Orleans roots. When it was introduced in the late 19th century, that step relied on absinthe. (Note you may spot Sazerac Rye whiskey at your local spirits store this branded whiskey can be used to make the classic cocktail, but is by no means essential.) The drink’s trademark aromatic wash has also evolved. But, as American-made whiskey grew in production and popularity, some bartenders traded the French brandy for rye. Believed to have been created in the middle of the 19th century, the mixed drink has evolved in ways that mirror American cocktail culture writ large.Įarly Sazerac cocktail recipes used cognac, usually Sazerac de Forge et Fils, as the base spirit. In the pantheon of New Orleans icons, the Sazerac cocktail casts a long shadow.
