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Sazerac Cocktail

A Sazerac with lemon twist beside the glass
A Sazerac with lemon twist beside the glass

In 1901, a newspaper described Sazerac bartenders putting absinthe into a glass and throwing it out, leaving “only the aroma”. That fragrant rinse still defines the drink: rye whiskey, sugar and Peychaud's bitters served in an absinthe-coated glass. The Sazerac is the official cocktail of New Orleans under Louisiana law. Who invented it is another matter. [1][2]

How to make a Sazerac Cocktail

Straight rye whiskey gives this recipe its foundation, following both the Oxford Companion to Spirits & Cocktails and Stanley Clisby Arthur's 1937 recipe. The specification below is the Oxford Companion's Miret-Wilkinson Sazerac, which includes an optional small measure of maraschino. It is presented from that source rather than tested by this site. [1][7]

Recipe card

Serves: one
Glass: a chilled, heavy-bottomed tumbler, following Arthur's choice
Ice: for chilling the serving glass and stirring, not for the finished drink
Garnish: lemon twist [1][7]

Ingredients

  • 60 ml (about 2 fl oz) straight rye whiskey
  • 5 ml (about 0.17 fl oz) rich simple syrup
  • 2 dashes Peychaud's bitters
  • 1 dash Angostura bitters
  • 3 ml (about 0.1 fl oz) maraschino, optional
  • 5 ml (about 0.17 fl oz) absinthe, for rinsing the glass [1]

Method

  1. Chill the serving glass with ice, then empty it.
  2. Add the absinthe, turn the glass to coat its inside, then discard the excess.
  3. Stir the rye whiskey, syrup, bitters and optional maraschino with ice in a separate mixing glass.
  4. Strain into the prepared serving glass, without ice.
  5. Express the lemon twist over the drink. Arthur instructed that the peel should stay out of the finished cocktail. [1][7]

Origin note: the inventor remains disputed. This specification is a later scholarly reconstruction rather than a verified original recipe. [1][2]

Use a measured serving, with water, food and breaks. Nobody needs to finish the glass, and those measures do not remove alcohol related risk. People who are pregnant or trying to conceive, taking medicines that interact with alcohol, living with conditions made worse by alcohol or recovering from alcohol dependence should not drink. See the Responsible Drinking page for further guidance.

The details that define the serve

Coat the glass with absinthe, then pour away the excess. The rinse gives the Sazerac its aromatic setting; the full rinsing measure does not belong in the finished cocktail. The 1901 newspaper description quoted in the Oxford Companion makes this preparation explicit, down to the bartenders throwing out the absinthe. [1]

“Never use a shaker!” Arthur's instruction is just as direct. His method needs two glasses: one chills while the other holds the sugar, bitters, rye and stirring ice. He calls for a lump of sugar rather than the syrup used in the specification above. [7]

Rye is the traditional choice in both Arthur and the Oxford Companion. Earlier printed recipes, however, also use other bases, so the rye tradition is one strand of the drink's history rather than a formula shared by every early Sazerac. [1][7][8] For related reading, see the old fashioned, the Vieux Carré and the whisky cocktail guide.

Origin: the name and the record

The name reached print before the recipe. The Oxford Companion dates the first printed mention to 1899. Bar-Vademecum identifies the publication as the March issue of Alpha Tau Omega Palm, reporting a November 1898 gathering in New Orleans. There, in the quoted passage, is the name “Sazerac Cocktail”. [1][8]

Story box: a name before a recipe

Founding story: the first mixing date, place and creator remain unknown. The earliest known printed mention identified in the research is that 1899 fraternity-magazine reference: a report of a gathering, rather than a recipe or an eyewitness account of invention. [1][8]

Turning point: William Boothby's 1908 The World's Drinks and How to Mix Them provides the earliest documented printed recipe in this record. It credits Armand Regnier of New Orleans and calls for “Sazerac brandy”. [6]

Documented record: Boothby stirs gum syrup, bitters and brandy with cracked ice, then strains the mixture into an absinthe-rinsed stem cocktail glass. Lemon peel is squeezed over the drink; ice water is served alongside. [6]

Sources and claim mapping: the Oxford Companion entry supports the 1899 first-mention date; Bar-Vademecum identifies the magazine and meeting; Boothby, page 29, recipe 63 supports the recipe, attribution and service details.

Last checked: Day not recorded, November 2026.

Verdict badge: the first printed recipe uses brandy

Claim: the earliest documented printed Sazerac recipe in this record is Boothby's 1908 brandy recipe.
Verdict: Documented.
What the record shows: the recipe names “Sazerac brandy” and credits Armand Regnier.
Evidence against or gap: the contents of the first Sazerac ever mixed remain unknown.
Earliest known source: Boothby, The World's Drinks and How to Mix Them, 1908, page 29, recipe 63.
Sources: digitised original, 1908.
Last checked: Day not recorded, November 2026.

Why the inventor remains disputed

Claim: Antoine Amedee Peychaud invented the Sazerac.

Verdict: Disputed

What the record shows: Louisiana's statute credits Peychaud. The Oxford Companion, however, finds scarce corroboration for Arthur's account and reports that a 1902 newspaper recorded local opinion crediting Billy Wilkinson. [1][2]

Evidence against or gap: Peychaud's personal role remains historically uncertain, despite the statutory credit.

Earliest known source: Not reliably established; Arthur published his account in 1937. [7]

Sources: Oxford Companion; Louisiana statute, 2008; Arthur, 1937.

Last checked: Day not recorded, November 2026.

Claim: The Sazerac changed from cognac to rye at a particular date.

Verdict: Disputed

What the record shows: Arthur places the change around 1870. The producer dates it to 1885 and links it to the phylloxera shortage. The Oxford Companion begins its documented account with the Sazerac House's whiskey cocktails in 1895. [1][4][7]

Evidence against or gap: No reliable date for a switch has been established.

Earliest known source: Not reliably established; Arthur published his account in 1937. [7]

Sources: Oxford Companion; Sazerac Company, producer's account; Arthur, 1937.

Last checked: Day not recorded, November 2026.

Official status: New Orleans, not Louisiana

The Sazerac became the official New Orleans cocktail under Louisiana RS 33:1420.2, effective 15 July 2008. The distinction matters: the original bill proposed statewide status, but the enacted text recognises the city. Under that provision, it is not the official cocktail of Louisiana. [2][3]

Recognition took a second attempt. On 8 April 2008, the Senate rejected the bill by 27 votes to 8. On 28 May, it passed by 25 votes to 8. It became Act No. 928 without the Governor's signature. [3]

Two claims to leave behind

“It was America's first cocktail.” An 1843 New York description reported by the Oxford Companion already lists a cocktail containing brandy, sugar, absinthe, bitters and ice. That is decades before the Sazerac's first known printed mention, and the evidence does not support the first-cocktail claim. [1]

“There has always been one fixed recipe.” Boothby's brandy drink shares the early printed record with Grohusko's 1908 bourbon “Zazarack” and Didier's 1909 version with French vermouth. Naming a recipe's source tells the reader more than calling any one version timeless. [6][8]

Where to go next

Sources

  1. Oxford University Press, via Spirits and Distilling. Sazerac cocktail, The Oxford Companion to Spirits & Cocktails, edited by David Wondrich, online entry, publication date not supplied in the fact sheet. https://www.spiritsanddistilling.com/dictionary/acref-9780199311132-e-411
  2. Louisiana State Legislature. RS 33:1420.2, New Orleans cocktail, Acts 2008, No. 928, effective 15 July 2008. https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=631474
  3. Louisiana State Legislature. SB6, 2008 Regular Session, bill history and original text, 2008. https://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/BillInfo.aspx?i=209051
    Original text: https://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=462390
  4. Sazerac Company. Our Story, producer's account, undated webpage. https://www.sazerac.com/our-company/our-story/
  5. Hon. Wm. Boothby. The World's Drinks and How to Mix Them, 1908, page 29, recipe 63, digitised original, Internet Archive, EUVS Digital Collection. https://archive.org/download/vintage-cocktail-books-euvs/1908%20The%20World%27s%20Drinks%20and%20How%20to%20Mix%20Them%20by%20Hon%20Wm%20Boothby.pdf
  6. Stanley Clisby Arthur, Harmanson. Famous New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix 'Em, 1937, pages seventeen to eighteen, digitised original. https://xn--cocktailnrden-jnb.dk/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Arthur-Stanley-Clisby-Famous-New-Orleans-Drinks-and-How-to-Mix-em-1937.pdf
  7. Bar-Vademecum. Sazerac Cocktail, historical discussion and transcribed recipes, undated webpage. https://bar-vademecum.eu/sazerac-cocktail/

This piece is desk research based on the supplied verified fact sheet, distinguishing original recipe texts, scholarly interpretation, statutory recognition and the producer's account.

Last checked: November 2026