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Posts with tag Sazerac

Gumbo Tales, Cookbook of the Day

cover of Gumbo Tales: Finding My Place at the New Orleans TableBack at the end of January, I spent five days up in New York City, attending a writing conference and hanging out with my cousins in Brooklyn. One of the high points of the conference was the session I attended that consisted entirely of food writers reading from their work. One of the writers was Sara Roahen, and she read a piece about the Sazerac (a drink made from rye whiskey and bitters) from her about-to-be published book about food and life in New Orleans.

The book, officially titled Gumbo Tales: Finding My Place at the New Orleans Table, is now available and it should be winging its way to me even as we speak (thanks to the wonder that is Amazon.com). It contains recipes and stories (and we all know that's just about my favorite thing in the whole world). When I heard Roahen read, by the end of the chapter, I was nearly panting for a Sazerac (and I don't particularly even like whiskey). If that is any indication, I am certain the rest of the book will be as vividly descriptive and tantalizing.

Mardi Gras Cocktails: Sazerac

sazeracIt's not really a Mardi Gras party without indulging in a drink, or two, or a half dozen, so don't forget to add some cocktails to your Fat Tuesday Feast.

Sazerac might be the world's oldest known cocktail. Granted, not the oldest liquor (or wine), but cocktail which, by "definition," is a mixture. We're not exactly sure where the name comes from, but it could be from a French brand of cognac called Sazerac-du-Forge et fils, or it could be named after the cafe in which it was first reported to be made, the Sazerac Coffee House in New Orleans (thus, its association with New Orleans and Mardi Gras). It doesn't matter because a sazerac by any other name still tastes as sweet.

To make a Sazerac cocktail, crush one sugar cube with a drop of water in the bottom of a glass. (Some recipes call for 1 tsp. simple syrup instead.) Add a few drops of Peychaud's Bitters, 2 oz. rye whiskey, a few ice cubes, and stir. Pour this into another glass that has been swirled with a few drops of Pernod (or absinthe, you decide). Twist a lemon peel over the cocktail.

Purists will say that you cannot make a true Sazerac without the Peychaud's bitters, and that you don't add the lemon peel to the drink after you twist. As far as the rye whiskey, I am guessing a fine cognac would work just as well, if not better, but don't use Bourbon. Save that for a mint julep on Derby Day.

Tip of the Day

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