Classic Cocktails: The Sazerac

Classic Cocktails: Sazerac
by Michael Frank 

Whenever I go to one of those speakeasy type bars, I like to order a Sazerac or two. There's something special about how the bitter green herbaceousness matches with the anise flavors of the absinthe while embracing the sweetness and terroir of the Cognac with open arms. Without absinthe or in some instances Herbsaint, the Sazerac would simply be an Old Fashioned with a different base spirit. And while a good Old Fashioned is great, the luxuriousness and deeper complexity of a good Sazerac transports you to a different place in time. Or perhaps it’s just me getting caught up in the moment. Either way, it’s a really good drink. While you can have a Sazerac with a good meal this one stands up on its own as a companion to a long evening of deep discussion and good times-- I suggest you pair it with rich, decadent chocolate desserts. 


Besides the time of its first inception, the history for this cocktail is surprisingly concrete. It all started to come together In the early 1850s. It was a time long ago in New Orleans, Louisiana, when our nation was just getting geared up for the civil war. The newly formed nation was doing a lot of international trade with Europe in exchange for our cotton, furs and many other hard goods that were abundant in the new world. In exchange, we saw a great era of prosperity and, more importantly for this story's sake, fancy European booze flooding the American market. The temperance movement was in its infancy and the wheels of progress were the hot topic of the day. Needless to say, it was a stressful time, an uncertain time and a perfect time for a stiff drink.

In the early 1850s a businessman by the name of Sewell E. Taylor had a thriving business importing goods from France, particularly the Sazerac de Forge et Fils brand of Cognac. He also had a bar to peddle his wares: the Sazerac House Bar. At the time, absinthe was all the rage in France and being a successful merchant he was also importing this inebriating elixir. Now, as I can tell you from personal experience, you do not want to serve customers a lot of absinthe in the traditional method. I won’t go into details but I’ll say this: whatever reason you think it is, yes, that and more.

Sewell being a smart man knew this and to keep his customers drinking, safe and alive he had his team come up with a cocktail. Thus, the Sazerac is born. It’s worth noting that one of his main conspirators in this was the pharmacist Antoine Peychauds, the creator of Peychaud's Bitters that are used in Sazeracs. It may seem funny to us now to have a medical professional collaborating with a booze slinger. For context though, cocaine and opium-laced drinks were the primary medicine at the time.

Over the years this cocktail has evolved and adapted to stay alive and relevant. Most notably, when phylloxera swept across Europe in the mid-19th century, destroying grape vines and vineyards, Cognac became all but a thing of memory and was replaced by rye whiskey. The second is the outlawing of absinthe in the early 1900s. Absinthe was quickly replaced with Herbsaint and the Sazerac tradition moved on. Depending on whether you want to maintain historical accuracy or not, you’ll have a lot of options. For a base spirit you can go the original pre-phylloxera route and use a Cognac. Or, you could go with the more new school route and use a spicy American rye whiskey.

For bar tools

Jigger 666444
Rocks Glass 106639
Barspoon 612123
 

For consumables

Herbsaint 112800
Peychaud's Bitters 120540
Hennessy Privilege VSOP 112720
Rittenhouse Rye Whiskey 166244
Sugar Cubes
Ice 





Step 1
Start by taking your two rocks glasses and putting them side by side. Fill the one on the left with ice and the glass on your right throw in about three dashes of peychaud's bitters.

Step 2
Add half an ounce of Herbsaint to the glass with ice. Give it a quick stir and then let it sit. Don’t worry, we want it to get all melty and weird for something later. Although the original calls for absinthe, I prefer to use the wormwood outlaw substitute. My primary reasoning is that I’m going to be dumping it all out later and Herbsaint is significantly cheaper and as far as your palate is concerned it’s practically the same thing

Step 3
Now take your jigger and measure out one ounce of Cognac and one ounce of rye into the glass on the right that you dressed with Peychaud's Bitters. Normally I would tell you to stir, but in this case don’t worry about it. As I noted up above some people like to build this cocktail with rye and some wirth Cognac. I ,however, am an indecisive kind of guy so I use both. I use Rittenhouse for it’s spicy clean finish and Hennessy VSOP because my research tells me that it’s going to be the closest in style to the smaller Cognac house of the era. Also, I really like Hennessy VSOP.

Step 4
Take the glass on the left, the one with the ice and Herbsaint. Give it one last quick stir and dump it all out. Don’t be scared, just throw it all out. This, is how you create what we like to call a rinse. I know it seems wasteful… and it is. Unfortunately, none of the other methods I’ve tried work the same. If you would like to experiment you could try using a spray bottle, a spritzer or a swab brush.

Step 5
Take the Herbsaint-rinsed glass you just dumped out and throw some more ice in it. Then take that boozy concoction you have sitting aside and slowly pour it over the ice and discard the now empty glass. Take it easy with the transfer to make sure you don’t spill anything.

Step 6
Peel your lime, zest it, rim the glass the place it nicely on the rim to garnish.

Step 7
Enjoy!

 
Some of the fun ways to play around with a Sazerac is by playing with the rinse or the base spirit. Instead of Cognac perhaps a good Spanish brandy or Armagnac? Maybe even a bourbon or Scotch for the base. I did one with an Ardbeg 10 and it was awesome. In place of Herbsaint or absinthe try a green Chartreuse. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination and ingenuity.

To see our above cocktail aficionados in action (L to R: Michael, Don, Sean), check out their YouTube channel and find out "What Do Billionaires Drink?"

May your cocktail adventures be glorious!

Classic Cocktails: The Sidecar

The Sidecar

by Michael Frank

The Sidecar cocktail is by far one of most memorable cocktails to come out of American Prohibition. It brings to the table an elegant yet fruit-forward flavor profile that’s complemented by a naturally high acid content. While it goes best with a salty snack, it also makes a perfect aperitif or an aperitivo-- especially with large fatty, rich meals. With all the fruit juice that goes into it, some are deceived into expecting a sweet, easy-to-drink cocktail. Don’t let it fool you though; If you do try to gulp it down you’ll end up coughing. This is a concoction of complexity and power that is designed to be savored and enjoyed patiently.

The common belief is that the sidecar cocktail is named after those funny little attachments that people can put on the side of a motorcycle for a passenger. Another theory as to the origin of the name is that it’s named after a sidecar shot. A shot of sidecar is something you probably won’t see in any first world bars in our modern era. In short, a sidecar shot is when the bartender takes his barmat and dumps whatever liquid has accumulated into a shot glass. It saves on product cost and people love it. In my last bar we did this all the time and believe it or not, it actually doesn’t usually taste half bad.

The lore reads that it was invented by a wounded army field captain that rode between a bar and his encampment in a sidecar during the battles of World War I. Sounds like a tall tale to me, but hey-- good stories sell drinks. 

The actual origin of the cocktail is traced back to the Ritz Carlton of Paris in 1922 and the American refugee bartender Harry MacElhone. Of course, this is a matter of some debate and some would attribute the original mixture to Robert Vermeire who published his book “Cocktails and How to Mix Them” the same year.

The original recipe calls for equal parts Congac, Triple Sec and Lemon Juice. I prefer a take on the more modern and popular version from Harry Craddock’s 1930 "Savoy Cocktail Book." My recipe for this cocktail follows that 1930s tradition while utilizing classic liquor selections and some “relatively” new mixology techniques. You will need the following:

For bar tools…

Jigger 666444

Beehive Juicer 106266

18oz weighted shaker 644344

28oz weighted shaker 678987

Hawthorne strainer 643543

Martini glass 703622

For consumables…

Camus Borderies VSOP Cognac 102722

Cointrieu 106340

Lemons

Step 1

Start by adding 3 ounces of Cognac.

Cognac is really the star of this cocktail and despite all the heavy sugars and citrus we’re building on top of it, we really want that original essence to shine through in all its glory. For this I wouldn’t select anything too elegant or smooth. I’m not suggesting the use of poor quality brandy either though, what we want is something with just a little bit of spice and bite. For me, I like to use Camus Borderies VSOP because of the unique baking spice characteristics that come through on the nose and palate as well as its long and bold finish.

Feel free to swap out and have fun with and other brandy, as well, even if it’s not Cognac. One of the primary factors in the difference between a brandy and a Cognac is that Cognac comes from Cognac, France, and has its own AOC (Appellation d'origine contrôlee, the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, spirits, cheeses, butters and other agricultural products). Even if someone somewhere else were to make the same spirit with the same grapes in let’s say Bordeaux, it could only be called brandy. One of my favorite substitutions is Spanish brandy such as Torres 10.

Step 2

Add 1 ounce of Cointreau.

I like to use Cointreau because it’s the most orange-y of all the orange liqueurs, also it's not overly sweet. You can use triple sec too, if you like, but keep in mind it will make things sweeter.

Step 3

Squeeze 1 ounce of fresh lemon juice into your jigger. Don’t do this over the shaker as it will make it hard to keep things accurate. When your jigger is full, dump the fresh squeezed lemon juice into your shaking tin.

Step 4

Fill your other shaker with ice, put the two together and shake the heck out of it! Make sure you hold both cups securely, we want this cocktail “in” you and your guests, not “on” you. When shaking, shake back and forth between the two bottoms of the cups to give it the best chance of marrying the ingredients. Do this for about 30 seconds. Don’t be shy, give it all you’ve got!

Step 5

Get your martini glass ready. Tap the two conjoined metal cups gently on the edge of your bar (or anywhere else) to break the vacuum seal you created. Take your hawthorn strainer, place it over the cup and carefully pour everything into your glass.

Step 6

Enjoy! Another technique you might want to try out would be putting it through a netted strainer on it’s way into the glass, this will give it a whole new mouthfeel. Also, feel free to swap out the base liquor. I made one recently with a heavily peated Scotch and it was great. Another option is to use different citrus: kumquats, maybe? Most importantly, have fun and experiment. The worst case scenario is that you’ll have to make another drink.

May your cocktail adventures be glorious!

Sidecar photo: foodspotting.com

Classic Cocktails: The Negroni

by Michael Frank

With its bright, bitter and refreshing citrusy tang, the Negroni comes in as one of my favorite summer cocktails. It's perfect for a hot day at the beach or a clean and crisp start to a good meal. Seeing as we're moving into an early summer I figured I’d do my part in getting us all prepared by putting this recipe together.

As with all things that originate in bars, the history of this cocktail is a bit fuzzy with conflicting accounts. Two things that we're rather sure about is that it’s Italian in origin and it's a take on an Americano cocktail (bitter aperitif, sweet vermouth and club soda). The common origin account is that it came into being in 1919 at Caffe Casoni in southern Italy. Being a version of the Americano, the story is that it was a collaboration between bartender Fosco Scarselli and local playboy Count Camillo Negroni to get everyone more liquored up. Another story says it was invented by a man by the name General Pascal Oliver De Negroni, but there isn’t much to the story other than some folk say he invented it.  I've also heard a number of my French friends claim that it isn't Italian at all but French in origin. The only thing that I can say definitely is that this cocktail is a traditional old world aperitif with a distinct hint of classic Americano flavorings. 

Now, as popular as the drink was in Europe it didn't gain recognition stateside until 1947 when it was showcased by Orson Wells. He discovered the classic cocktail while filming Cagliostro and talked about it extensively in media interviews while promoting the film. His theory was that bitters are supposed to be good for your health. So, in theory, the bitters in this drink will balance out with the gin and you’ll be drinking something healthy. For the record, I fully endorse this theory.

 

My Recipe is a traditional styled version mixed up with some of my personal favorites. You will need the following:

For bar tools…
Hawthorn Strainer 643543
Peeler 666555
Rocks Glass 643345
Mixing Glass 666772
Ice Cube Tray 716012
Jigger 666444
Hoffman Barspoon 662225

For consumables…
Gancia Americano 106365
Sloan’s Dry Gin 106275
Dolin Sweet Vermouth 375560
Scrappy’s Orange Bitters 102946
A beautiful orange

Step 1
Take your mixing glass and add your bitters to the bottom of the glass. About three or four dashes will do. The idea is to coat the base of the glass before we start building in everything else. For this recipe I use Scappy’s Orange Bitters because I like the bright acidic taste that comes with them. You can use Angostura or whatever your favorite brand is.

I should also note that adding bitters to the base is not a traditional method for building a Negroni. I do it to add a little bit of an extra complexity to my drinks but it’s certainly not a key ingredient to the cocktail.

Step 2
This is where we add our ice. We want the ice to melt a little bit during the building phase, but not a lot. So, at this point you’re going to really want to make sure you’re working efficiently. When you are ready, add some ice to the mixing glass. 

Step 3
Take 20ml of Dolin sweet vermouth and add it to your mixing glass. You can use any vermouth you want but I would suggest sticking with sweet vermouth. This is a super bitter drink and we really are going to want a little bit of the sugars in there to make it balanced.

 

Step 4
Take 20ml of Gancia Americano and add it to your mixing glass. I’m not using Compari here because I feel Gancia has a little bit more of an aproachable flavor profile while Campari is more focused on straight bitterness. If you want to be a purist use the Campari though.

Step 5
Take 20ml of Sloan’s Dry Gin and add it to your mixing glass. For gin you can use anything but I would highly suggest sticking to dry style gin as you don't wan't to introduce conflicting flavor profiles to your cocktail. If you want to buck tradition you could also substitute gin for vodka. And, if you suddenly just decided you'd like an Americano add your club soda in place of the gin at this point.

Step 6
Put some ice in your rocks glass. Be careful not to overdo it with the ice or you'll have an overflow when you go to transfer your built drink over. I should also probably note that this cocktail will stain just about anything it touches.

Step 7
Take your bar spoon and stir everything in a gentle continuous motion for about 40 seconds. Whatever you do don't shake it. It will bruise the drink, make it watery and also add a weird frothiness to it. Be careful not to overstir, as it will render similar poor results.

Step 8
Place your hawthorne strainer over the top of the mixing glass. Hold it in place with your index finger and gently pour the contents into a rocks glass.

Step 9
Take that beautiful orange, the orange peeler and peel off a good slice of skin directly over the cocktail. Rim the glass with the peel and then gently place it in the center of the glass. You'll want to hover about one inch over the drink when you do the peeling. The oils from the orange skin are just as important as any other ingredient so handle this step with care.


 

Step 10 Enjoy!
You're done, that's it. The best thing for me about this cocktail from a bartender's perspective is that all the key components are in equal parts so I can easily make as much as I want without having to do any math. Something fun to try with this cocktail is to add different flavored bitters to your base or float your favorite liquor on the top. I've also heard that it's great put through a blender, but seeing as I don't have access to one I've yet to find out. As always, If you do discover any fun variations or if you have any questions, I'd love to hear them.

May your cocktail adventures be glorious!

Classic Cocktails: The Manhattan

by Michael Frank

   Hi, my name is Michael and I'm one of the wine and liquor folks here at Hi-Time Wine Cellars. I've been in the inebriation business for a while now and over the years I've had the opportunity to build more cocktails than I care to remember. Working in the liquor department, one of the common questions I get is how to build classic cocktails. Over the coming weeks and months, or until I run out of recipes, I'll be writing these short articles. My aim is to give you an overview of how to make some of those old bar favorites as well as a short history, context and some variations.

   First on my list is the Manhattan. This is one of my personal favorites and a staple of American mixology; it's a booze-driven concoction that's aromatic, complex and has the opportunity for huge depth of character. First appearing somewhere in the early 1860s to early 1900s, the most common history is that it originated as a signature drink at the Manhattan Club in 1874 for a party hosted by Winston Churchill's mom. This probably isn’t accurate because there is little evidence to show this gathering ever took place. Also, she was in Europe giving birth at the time. Other accounts range from it being invented by some guy named Black on Broadway to a wild southerner trying to make a group of Italian guys mad by dumping whiskey in their vermouth.

   No matter how it came about, it's a bonafide classic cocktail and it's here to stay. The original approach calls for American rye whiskey, Italian vermouth, aromatic bitters and sugar stirred on ice and strained into a coupe glass. In 1920, rye whiskey became scarce due to prohibition so bartenders started using any whiskey they could get their hands on. Then at some point in the the mid-1900s maraschino cherries and orange peels got added to the mix.

   For my recipe I keep it easy and relatively traditional. You will need the following:

For bar tools...

Jigger

Stirring Glass

Bar Spoon

Ice tray

Hawthorn strainer

Peeler

Coupe glass

For consumables...

WildTurkey Rye 101

VervinoVermouth #4

Angostura Bitters

Maraschino Cherries

Beautiful Orange

Cubed Ice

Step 1

   Take your mixing glass and add your bitters to the bottom of the the glass. About three or four dashes will do. The idea is to coat the base of the glass before we start building in everything else.
   I use Angostura because it's my favorite and one of the most recognizable flavor profiles as far as bitters go. If you're feeling adventurous you might want to try out some Angostura orange bitters.

   You'll notice that I'm not using any sugar for my recipe. This is my personal preference as a bartender. I started building them this way when I was bartending in Vietnam because I had a hard time acquiring consistent quality sugar for our bar. Ultimately the consensus of my patrons was that they prefered it without and I've been building them like this ever since.

Step 2

   Take your jigger and add 1 oz. of Sweet vermouth to the mixing glass.

   Without vermouth, all you have is whiskey with some stuff in it. If your whiskey was a singer the vermouth would be the band. Good on their own, but really only shines when accompanied by a great band. That's why I choose to use Vervino Vermouth #4 for my recipe. Huge summertime East Coast botanicals and a touch of natural honey. This vermouth producer is one of my little bartending tricks, it will really bring any cocktail to a new level.

   Traditionally and in this recipe sweet vermouth is used. If you like things a bit more dry you can always substitute in a dry vermouth to turn your drink into a Dry Manhattan. I'd recommend Vervino Vermouth #5.

Step 3

   Take your jigger and add 2 oz. of rye whiskey to the mixing glass.

   You now have a star-studded band warming up. Now, all you need is the lead singer. Whiskey is going to be that lead singer. For this recipe I use Wild Turkey Rye 101. Some may question my choice of rye, with the amount of newer whiskies in the market, but this is one of the best darn rye whiskeys out there and I'm going to stand by it.

   If you don't like rye whiskey or you're just looking to experiment, you could try some Rock Hill Farms bourbon, or maybe some Corsair Mosaic. If you really want to be wild put some Camus XO cognac in there. Although, it wouldn't really be a true Manhattan at that point, it would still be a valid variation of one. Experiment and have fun.

Step 4

   Top off the mixing glass with ice.

   When putting the ice in, make sure you do it delicately so you don't splash. This is one of those times that a bar spoon comes in really handy. Use it to guide the ice in. Take it slow at this step. I know you're excited, we're almost there, I promise.

   The real key here is to make sure your ice cubes are big enough so you don't have too much surface contact with the booze, thus making a watery cocktail. I really like these cool rubber ice trays we sell. they're just the right size and the rubber makes them really easy to use.

Step 5

   Take your bar spoon and stir everything in a gentle continuous motion for about 40 seconds.

   Whatever you do don't shake it. It will bruise the drink, make it watery and also add a weird frothiness to it. Be careful not to overstir, as it will render similar poor results.

Step 6

   Place your hawthorne strainer over the top of the mixing glass. hold it in place with your index finger and gently pour the contents into a coupe glass. You don't want any ice to escape at this point.

Step 7

   Place a maraschino cherry at the bottom of the coupe glass using your bar spoon to gently guide it into place.

Step 8

   Take that beautiful orange, the orange peeler and peel off a good slice of skin directly over the cocktail. Rim the glass with the peel and then gently place it in the center of the glass.

   You'll want hover about one inch over the drink when you do the peeling. The oils from the orange skin are just as important as any other ingredient so handle this step with care.

Step 9

   Enjoy!

   That's it, you're done. I hope you enjoy my recipe or whatever version of it you end up making. When building cocktails, always keep in mind that however you like it is the right way to make it. The only bad drink is the one you don't like. Whatever you do, don't ever let some mixologist snob tell you something is wrong. Want to add some Gran Marnier to your Manhattan? Go for it, have fun, explore and discover.

   If you do discover any fun variations, I'd love to hear them. Or if you have any questions I'm always happy to help. Feel free to call me or better yet stop in the store to say hello. I'm here Friday through Tuesday, afternoons and evening.

   May your cocktail adventures be glorious!