Sazerac

By LRay

Bon Appetit, October 2015, page 85.

This potent New Orleans nightcap is as much about the aromatic absinthe rinse as it is the Cognac and rye.

Ingredients

• 1 sugar cube
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• 2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
• 1 ounce rye whiskey
• 1 ounce VSOP Cognac
• 1 teaspoon absinthe
• 3 star anise pods

Preparation

Step 1

Place sugar cube in a mixing glass. Add Angostura and Peychaud’s bitters, then whiskey and VSOP Cognac. Muddle until sugar dissolves. Fill glass with ice and stir until very cold, about 30 seconds.

Rinse a brandy snifter with absinthe; discard. Strain cocktail through a Hawthorne strainer or a slotted spoon into snifter. Garnish with star anise pods.