Vihdoinkin Suomesta saa Paychaud's Bitter'iä. Tuotetta voi kysellä Philippe Hakulinilta, Vinoblesta.

Ehkä kuuluisin cocktail, jossa olennaisena osana on Paychaud's Bitter, on Sazerac.

Alkuperäinen Sazerac on monien mielestä ensimmäinen varsinainen cocktail.

Drinkin keksijä, Antoine Amadie Peychaud, muutti New Orleansiin vuonna 1795 Länsi Intian saarilta. 1800 luvun alussa hänen ystävilleen tarjoamasta drinkistä tuli kuuluisa. Drinkki sisälsi Ranskalaista brandyä, Peychaud’in bitteriä, tikan vettä ja hiukan sokeria. Drinkki tarjottiin suurehkosta munakupista jota kutsuttiin coquetier’iksi. Väitetään, että juuri tästä ranskankielisestä sanasta amerikkalaisttain lausuttuna syntyi sana cocktail.   

Absinthen lisääminen Sazerac cocktailiin tuli yleiseksi tavaksi 1850 -luvulla. Ruisviski korvasi brandyn 1870 -luvulla. Tätä drinkkiä on nautittu jo yli 130 vuoden ajan ja nyt on taas mahdollista käyttää alkuperäistä absinthea sen valmistukseen.

Sazerac’in aistikas maku on kuin sinfonia suussasi - kerros kerrokselta lämpimiä makuja. Ruisviski tuo hohtavaa voimaa, hedelmäinen Peychayd’s bitter balansoi sokerin tasapainoon, absinthe tuo aromaattisuutta jota vielä sitruunankuorenpalasta puristettu aromaattinen öljy korostaa.

Vuosikymmenien aikana Sazerac’in resepti on kehittynyt eri suuntiin. Perinteisesti Sazerac valmistetaan “Old Fashioned” -tyyliin rakentamalla, mutta “Manhattan” -tyylinen hämmentäminen on nykyisin yleisin tapa. Perusalkoholin voi myös korvata konjakilla, jolloin drinkin nimi on Royal Sazerac. Black Bush viskistä tulee Black Sazerac ja niin edelleen...

Torni American Barin Sazerac ohje:

• 4 cl Bourbon whisky
• Dash Absinttia
• Dash Paychaud's Bitteriä
• 0,5 cl Sokerilientä

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Tuottajan nettisivut: www.sazerac.com

The Original Sazerac Cocktail

This is the quintessential New Orleans cocktail. There are those who say this is the first cocktail, period. There's a lot of dispute over this, but it's certainly the first to appear in New Orleans, which has been acknowledged by many as the home of the cocktail.

This drink was invented by Antoine Amadie Peychaud, a Creole apothecary who moved to New Orleans from the West Indies and set up shop in the French Quarter in 1793. He dispensed a proprietary mix of aromatic bitters to relieve the ails of his clients (Peychaud's Bitters are still made in New Orleans and sold today), and in the early part of the 19th Century he became famous for a toddy he made for his friends. It consisted of French brandy mixed with his secret blend of bitters, a drop of water and a bit of sugar. He served his drink in the large end of an egg cup that was called a coquetier in French, and some say that the Americanized pronunciation of this as "cocktail" gave this type of drink its name.

Before long, the demand for this drink led to its being served in bars throughout the city (euphemistically called "coffee houses" in those days). One of these, a large bar on Exchange Alley owned by a gentleman named Sewell Taylor, was named the Sazerac Coffeehouse. In 1853, Mr. Taylor declared that the drink would be made in his bar only with particular brand of Cognac called Sazerac-du-Forge et fils for which Mr. Taylor was the sole importer and for which his bar was named. Apparently the bar was big enough to accommodate 12 bartenders, all mixing "Sazeracs" for their patrons, and people began to refer to the drink with the name of the coffeehouse where it was most popular. It is believed that during this period one of the bartenders at the Sazerac came up with the idea of adding a few drops of absinthe to coat the glass, and with this flavor enhancement, a true classic was born.

Around 1870, a gentleman by the name of Thomas Handy took over as proprietor of the Sazerac House, and the primary ingredient was changed from cognac to rye whiskey (due to popular American tastes as well as to the difficulty of obtaining cognac at the time). Eventually the now-banned absinthe has been replaced by the locally-produced pastis called Herbsaint (although if you can't find it you may substitute Pernod or any good pastis, or even good absinthe if you live in an area where it's available -- avoid Hill's from the Czech Republic). The drink has been enjoyed this way for over 130 years, and over 150 if you include the original version made with Cognac.

The bar moved to the Roosevelt Hotel in 1949, where the Sazerac Bar and Restaurant still stands. The Roosevelt is now the Fairmont, and the hotel pays an annual fee to the Sazerac Company for the use of the name. The company, which produces, imports and distributes many different liquors, was founded in 1870 by the gentleman who bought the Sazerac Coffeehouse and the Peychaud family's secret recipe for the bitters.

This is an absolutely exquisite cocktail. As you sip it, you come across layer after layer of flavor -- the warmth and glowing burn of the rye, effused with the flavors of spice and honey, the bite of the bitters balanced with the sweetness of the sugar, with the subtle yet complex flavor of the anise underneath and the perfume of the lemon oil from the twist feel like a symphony inside your mouth. This is also a drink that warms up well, revealing even more flavors. Sip it very slowly. Savor it. Take your time with it.

There are recipes that call for Angostura bitters as well as Peychaud's bitters for this cocktail. All I have to say is ... it wasn't invented that way, M. Peychaud didn't make it that way, they didn't serve it that way at the original Sazerac Coffeehouse, even though Tom Handy's bartenders eventually began adding that as well, so I'd just as soon leave them out. I love the flavor of Peychaud's bitters, and Angostura bitters are ubiquitous enough -- just about any drink you order that calls for bitters (and there aren't many left) use only Angostura.. Give the little guy a chance.

Although I love a Sazerac made with rye whiskey, you can make a truly spectacular drink by substituting a good Cognac for the rye, making the drink as it was in the old days. If you have real absinthe, use that to coat the glass, too. (I call this a "Royal Sazerac").

And speaking of rye ... get rye whiskey for this drink. Do not use Bourbon. Don't get me wrong, I love Bourbon. I think it's simply wrong for this drink. It has never been made this way traditionally, and until recently would never be made this way in New Orleans, and that's enough. I believe that if you've got something that's wonderful, that's real, and right, and true ... you leave it alone.

As Stanley Clisby Arthur, author of Famous New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix 'Em, in print since 1937, said in his classic tome, "While Bourbon may do for a julep it just won't do for a real Sazerac." This comes directly from a bartender who used to mix Sazeracs for Tom Handy, so it bears some authority.

(Not everyone as as much of a traditionalist about this drink as I am. Of all places, Commander's Palace makes these with Bourbon. Now, I love Commander's. I've had some of the greatest dining experiences of my lif there. I have enormous respect for Ella Brennan and Chef Jamie Shannon, but we have a difference of opinion here. Use rye. If it's completely impossible to find rye where you are -- substitute Bourbon if you must. But use rye if at all possible. And horror of horrors, Galatoire's serves theirs on the rocks. I have no idea what they're thinking of. If you order a Sazerac at Galatoire's, make sure you ask for it straight up.)

My rye whiskey of choice for the Sazerac is Old Overholt, a 4-year-old rye that's got a crisp, complex flavor ... spicy with a touch of honey. It's an 86-proof whiskey, which is eminently sippable. However, if you like a drink with a bit more of a kick to it, Wild Turkey makes an excellent 101-proof rye that'll still give you an elegant drink but will give you a little boot in the butt as well.

After writing in Looka! about my 2000 trip home for Jazzfest and my rediscovery of the Sazerac as being my favorite cocktail of all time, a gentleman wrote in to ask why I didn't talk about having any Hurricanes during my visit home.

I replied, "Hurricanes are for tourists. Sazeracs are for natives." Here's how you make one.

• 1 teaspoon of simple syrup (or 1 sugar cube or 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar)
• 3 - 4 dashes Peychaud's bitters
• 2 ounces rye whiskey (most New Orleans bars use Old Overholt)
• 1/4 teaspoon Herbsaint, a New Orleans brand of anise liqueur (You may use Pernod, or some other pastis or absinthe substitute)
• Strip of lemon peel