History of the Sazerac

First, a disclaimer – t he history of cocktails is murky at best. I mean, consider the source – a bunch of alcoholic charlatans! (Those swarthy rascals!)

That being said, aspects of the Sazerac’s origin are fairly well documented, so there is much we can say with a fair amount of certainty. From a scholarly standpoint, I love the story of the Sazerac, as it serves to reveal much about the landscape of international beverage culture in the 1800s.

Our story begins with Antoine Amédée Peychaud, who arrived at the docks of New Orleans aboard a French schooner named ‘Brisk’ in the fall of 1824. He soon found employment in a Creole apothecary, and eventually established his own ‘Pharmacie Peychaud’ in 1838 on Royal Street in the French Quarter. The ‘Pharmacie’ became his libatious crucible, where he fashioned a myriad of potions concocted from various potent botanicals – one of which became quite famous.

The ‘pharmacy’ (translation: underground cocktail bar - perhaps a predecessor to the speakeasy?) became wildly popular for Antoine’s trademark toddy – a blend of Cognac (brand unknown), sugar, water, and his proprietary elixir. By 1850, he was commercially producing this trademark cure-all, known today as simply Peychaud’s Bitters.

But the ‘modern’ Sazerac wasn’t complete, nor would it be until at least twenty years later.

While Peychaud did not invent the cocktail, he certainly did his part to spread the use of this term by serving his popular toddy in a double-sided French egg cup, known as a ‘coquetier.’ (Pronounced COCK - tee - ay). The term ‘cocktail,’ first published in New England in 1803, and subsequently in 1806, had been spreading for decades, so it’s no wonder that Americans began calling Peychaud’s drink simply ‘cocktail.’

I can just picture it:

Customer: “Delicious! What’s is called?”Antoine: “Merci! It’s a Coquetier!”Customer: “What? Cook tea jay?Antoine: “No no miseur: eet is pronounce – COCK – tee – yay.”Customer: “Cocktay? You mean cocktail? Ah! Ok, got it. Cocktail. Yeah I think I’ve heard of that.”Antoine: “Hmphf.”

So by 1850, the Sazerac was simply called a ‘cocktail.’

Our story now moves to the Sazerac Coffee House on Exchange Alley, so named because the proprietor Sewell Taylor was the sole importer of Sazerac de Forge et Fils Cognac. Peychaud’s drink quickly became the house signature, and Taylor, understandably, used his Sazerac Cognac exclusively. Therefore, it was not until the 1850s that our beloved Sazerac got its name.

But the Sazerac recipe was still only partially complete – at this point it is still essentially a ‘toddy’ prepared with Cognac, water, sugar, and bitters. We are still missing the addition of an infamous anise liqueur, which didn’t occur until the 1870s, when the Cognac was replaced with American rye whiskey.

Absinthe didn’t become popular in New Orleans until the 1870s (landmark date: 1874, when ‘The Absinthe Room’ opened on Bourbon Street). And coincidently, it was around this time that bartenders were replacing the traditional Cognac with American rye whiskey.

But why replace an elegant French Cognac with a raucous, spicy whiskey? I’m glad you asked!

The second half of the 19th century almost saw the complete devastation of the entire world’s grape vines. The culprit? A tiny little bug called Phylloxera. Now, the story of Phylloxera is a long one, so I’ll save it for another article. Suffice it to say that it took years before science found an answer for these vine-hungry termites. Among the many failed attempts: French school children were sent in droves during recess to pee on the most famous vineyards in an attempt to kill the pests. Ha!

So, global grape production ground to a virtual halt for almost 50 years – and Cognac is made from grapes, right? No grapes, no Cognac. And what of the thirsty American drinking public demanding cocktails? Enter rye whiskey. Rye crops, and whiskey distilled from rye, were thriving in northeastern states, especially Pennsylvania and Maryland, during the early 1800s.

An ‘Abridged’ Time Line of the American Cocktail

1920-1933Prohibition

April 2012Uptown Cafe launches the

New Bar!

1870sCognac replaced with American Rye Whiskey, plus a dash of An-sinthe. Sazerac recipe complete!

1803The term

‘cocktail’ is first published

1640sEarly record of the Mint Julep

1860-1900Philorexa nearly

devastates the world’s vineyards

1850sSazerac Cognac is first used as featured spirit

1824Peychaud arrives in New Orleans

Below: The Absinthe Room, established 1874. It was in bars like this that Absinthe was finally included in the Sazerac, completing the beloved recipe we know today.

Clever bartenders in the French Quarter’s thriving cocktail bars started using the ever-plentiful rye whiskey – and some witty chap added a dash of the wildly-popular Absinthe (emphasis on wild) for good measure. Word spread, and off it went.

So there you have it. The modern concept of the Sazerac finally came to fruition in the 1870s. Bartenders today often use Cognac and Rye interchangeably (some use both!).

Right: A Coquetier, the French egg cup, pro-nounced COCK - tee - yay. Peychaud served his signature Cognac toddy is these curious vessels, and while he didn’t invent the term ‘cocktail,’ his is certainly one of a dozen story lines which led to its common usage today.

Is the Sazerac the 1st American cocktail?

While many mistakenly think it could be, this simply isn’t true. Many recipes predate it, including the Mint Julep, with origins dating back to the arrival of French Colonials to the American South in the 1640s. Again, this is the subject for a future article. . .

Until then, find yourself a buddy and grab your favorite drink – remember, it’s only booze, don’t try so hard to think.

Cheers!

Brad DunnSommelier