If you want to make the King of Cocktails, you need to start with Old Overholt.

Actually, any good rye whiskey will do, the better the whiskey the better the drink (obviously). But Old Overholt seems to be the rye of choice in bars throughout New Orleans, which is just about the only place you'll be able to order this cocktail .. the Sazerac. You'll need to learn to make it at home, and I can help you with that.

Unfortunately, rye whiskey isn't nearly as easy to find as it once was, and you tend to have to go to a well-stocked liquor store. It's worth the effort, though, because not only is Old Overholt a fine whiskey -- for sipping, for mixing with fizzy mixers, for Sazeracs -- but it's quite inexpensive as well. It has a fine flavor, and you'll catch whiffs of spices and honey as it goes down. This modicum of complexity helps when you make my favorite cocktail.

The Sazerac is perhaps the first true cocktail, and its invention is credited to one Antoine Amedie Peychaud, a Creole apothecary in New Orleans in the early part of the 19th century. M. Peychaud, besides concocting cures for his clients, had his own secret recipe for aromatic bitters (in fact, Peychaud's bitters are still made in New Orleans and are absolutely essential for this drink), which he dispensed for friends as well as clients in a mix of cognac and sugar, with a few drops of absinthe. This cocktail became known as the Sazerac, named for the brand of cognac he preferred -- Sazerac du Forge et Fils. It is said that the cocktail got its name from the egg-shaped cups in which M. Peychaud served his concoction -- a coqetier, which the recent American immigrants into the formerly French city of New Orleans pronounced as "cocktail".

To make a Sazerac, you first need an absinthe substitute, since that legendary green liquor is now banned in the United States. Herbsaint is the preferred local brand of pastis in New Orleans, but Pernod or Ricard will do.

Take a chilled cocktail or small rocks glass, and pour in a teaspoon or so of Herbsaint. Swirl it around the glass until it is completely coated on the sides and bottom, and pour out any excess (you may wish to leave a tiny puddle of pastis in the bottom). Then, in a cocktail shaker, add 1 teaspoon of simple syrup, 1 jigger of Old Overholt rye whiskey, and 3-4 healthy dashes of Peychaud's bitters. Some Sazerac recipes call for Angostura bitters as well, but since M. Peychaud didn't use 'em, neither do I.

Shake or stir the liquor with the ice based upon your preference, and strain into the Herbsaint-coated glass. Twist a lemon peel over the drink, and drop it in. Smell it. Sip it. Savor it.

Although nearly every Sazerac served in New Orleans will be made with Old Overholt (which is what I recommend), I can also tell you that you can make a truly superb Sazerac by substituting a fine cognac for the rye. Save that for very special occasions, though. For your everyday Sazeracs, save money with the wonderfully cheap and wonderfully tasty Old Overholt.



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