I've watched all the cocktail youtubers cover this drink and Cara absolutely crushes this. It is by far the best sazerac video available. A 25 minute video for all cocktails might be a big ask, but there is so much goodness offered here that this is what cocktail youtube should strive for.
Right? Absinthe is too nice and spendy to just throw away after the rinse! I'll definitely be using this technique the next time I need to do an absinthe rinse.
Which is what the Sazerac was... until it wasn’t. The people want what they want, and I suspect the Martini will become defaulted to vodka instead of gin in a few decades as well, all because some bartenders don’t want to serve drinks as they are supposed to be and ignore history. We all know what happens when we do that.
I just happen to have all ingredients on hand. The cognac had to be bought, but this drink is absolutely the cats' meow. I love the 1/2 bourbon and 1/2 cognac version! I would love to know more about the rinsing action that the drink requires. It all is a lab science compared to what every bar knows.
Sincerely you guys made a tremendous job (again). Cara thanks for the precision you approach the informations you pass to me and everyone else. Cheers from Brasil!
I prefer the rye base sazerac, but with a 100% canadian rye, likely because I grew up in that type of whisky. Also like batching these ahead, just need absinthe rinse. THough I will steal your technique of the louche absinthe sidecar from now on!
Can only imagine how much time went into making this one for us. Now have even more to appreciate while next sipping my fave. Thanks BTB! And yes please to absinthe deep dive. At current usage, it'll take me another 34 years to finish my bottle so I badly need other options.
Wild to think about how popular the whole "cocktails as medicine" thing was in the 1800s. Then again, back then the average American was drinking a bottle of whiskey a week, so it really was the answer to everything
Being a traditionalist, when last in New Orleans on St. Patrick's Day some years ago the Sazerac was made with bourbon but not sure which brand. Never had one with cognac but it sounds lovely.
I had never heard of the "New York vs New Orleans" thing -- but I started making them New York style for my own reasons: inspired by the Vieux Carre, which uses both Rye and Cognac, and from reading the history of how it started out with Cognac originally -- AND because I had a nice bottle of Armagnac that had been open way too long and needed to be finished off.
"Behind the bar" Big shout out to your presenter. Due to my ADD or your neglect, I did not see her name in the credits (this may be a deficiency on my part). I've long been a fan of the spicy 6 y.o. Sazerac Rye and have even gone as far as to track down all the bottles in a 15 mile radius of my home. Generally this type of presentation would get my, TLDR, but your girl had me transfixed with her light banter and knowledge of the subject. Kudos!
The drink that changed it all for me and still my go to special, along side Vieux Carré. I make the Death & Co version, 1.5 oz rye to 0.5 oz cognac. Love this channel.
This is my favourite cocktail and I've only had it with rye and have never seen it with cognac. Interesting history lesson, thanks. Also, more videos with Absinthe, I have an (un)healthy obsession with it.
Excellent video. This Louisiana native prefers the rye Sazeracs. Moreover, I love visiting Edinburgh. I look forward to visiting Melbourne (and your bar) when this craziness ends. Please stay safe and keep these excellent vids coming.
Agreed. If you went to the Sazerac Bar at the Roosevelt and ordered a Cognac or split-based Sazerac, I'm sure they would make it for you, but you'd be the butt of several jokes amongst the bar staff.
@@caza728 The pandemic will become endemic. We won't go back to 2019, but we will be able to travel and interact with others (relatively) safely again sooner than many doomsayers think.
Can I just say it's probably one of the best times to be alive and young. You have third coffee wave and you have craft cocktail wave. At the same bloody time. I just need a gourmet sandwich movement and it's golden.
Wow!!! Masterful and eloquent presentation on the construction of multiple variations of the Sazerac. The drink never sounded that interesting until viewing this magnum opus. Cara you can count on my financial support as a patron - amazing content.
Very thoroughly researched. I am impressed. My understanding was that the Sazerac cocktail was named after its primary ingredient from the Sazerac company. This was originally a Cognac imported by the Sazerac company and when the French grapes were devastated and Cognac became hard to obtain they switched to Rye. Today, the Sazerac company markets both a Cognac and a Rye under the Sazerac label. I would LOVE to see an episode on Absinthe. Do yourself a favor, try to get a bottle of Nouvelle Orleans from French distiller Jade Liquers. It has a very interesting history and is considered the most authentic Absinthe (true to the original) made today.
Your understanding is correct, sir. The original Sazerac de Forge et Fils cognac was served with Peychaud’s bitters mix and became ordered as a “Sazerac”, which gave the bar its name. It wasn’t until 1873 that it was made with rye whiskey due to the 1870 wine blight which led to a brandy shortage. It’s also when absinthe and sugar were added to the whiskey for balance.
I just made this split version with Cognac & Rye and loved it! I've tried just Cognac before and thought it was one dimensional. I was really sure I'd still prefer the Rye only version that I've always made but I have to agree with you, the split version is better. Cheers!
Wonderful review - being from NOLA, it is my favorite cocktail (rye version); love the idea of using the absinthe over ice and serving on the side. Learned something new today - many thanks! Oh and yeah, would enjoy a video on absinthe
@@BehindtheBar I've got maybe an odd question. Is there a certain trick or technique to pouring liquor? I always seem to have some dribble down the neck or need to wipe my counter after making a drink.
I really really love the specific taste and mystery that surrounds Absinthe, and in my opinion it's one of the most underrated spirits around. Along with the likes of Tequila and Mezcal because of the black sheeps of their family and the brutal hangovers they bring ^^ What I'm saying: Please bring no that Absinthe episode :) Also I really love the information you're providing here. I'm a bartender myself, and the Sazerac is the cocktail that introduced me to the business and the wonderful amazement that's the world of cocktails. Even today, when someone asks me for my favorite drink, I like to tell them that there's not one specific favorite but the Sazerac would be it if you'd force an answer out of me:)
Wonderful video. A great bar in Manhattan, The Rye House, made their sazerac with rye and armagnac. Absolutely delicious, by far and away my favorite, and how I make them now myself. The worst sazerac I ever had was made with southern comfort, yuk.
Love this so much. This was a long-awaited episode. ... And what an episode! Extra everything. The way you present hard history and let your personality shine through is wonderful. I headed straight to the Sazerac homepage and read their entire time-line. They unsurprisingly state/claim that it is the Sazerac cognac that was the original ingredient. Anyway, interesting read. I sometime think, how is she going to up her game now after this excellent video - and there is always a better one after that. Thanks. I don't know yet which one is my favourite, but there is only one way to find out, right? But of course I don't have absinthe and this bitters will be hard to get ... and my mouth is watering already now. Oh woe is me.
The conjecture is that the Coffee House was named after the cognac, but the drink is named after the Coffee House. I have no doubt that there were plenty of cognac drinks made there too, and probably very similar ones, but the only proof we have is of the rye version!
I like the Sazerac, or at least the idea of a Sazerac. I like rye, Pernod... I like cognac too. Just hadn't found the Sazerac for me. The split base Saz is the one! Made it nearly the same (PF Ambre instead of 1840) and loved it. Hadn't seen the fill-the-glass-with-ice-absinthe-louche trick before but that was a great addition. Thank you! My last Sazerac was in NOLA at the Sazerac Bar which is a beautiful place but made me despair I'd never find the Sazerac I was looking for. Now I don't know how I'm gonna mix anything else.
Fantastic analysis & comparison! Thank you so much for spending time on this history too- it was incredibly informative. Would love to see a deep dive on absinthe! Cheers :)
For me, I like to do a 2:1 rye to cognac. Just a small bit extra spice and a little less sweet. All about what your palate prefers. Great informative presentation
I've been waiting for this one. I go back and forth between rye and cognac. My bigger problem is bars that want to replace the absinthe rinse with anise liqueur spays. But that may just be me.
Thanks for the informative video! Since Sazerac rye is such a soft, fruity rye, I usually prefer the all rye option. It's funny that Sazerac rye isn't a very good sipper, because it's so mild. But it is perfect for this cocktail. If I use a stronger rye, then I do like splitting it with the cognac to get rounder and more subtle flavors. What surprised me a bit was your failure to mention the New Orleans long substitute for the absinthe....Herbsaint.
That’s fair, when I made the video a while ago it was really hard to find Herbsaint in Australia but it gets imported now so that’s actually what we use at my new American whiskey bar - but should have mentioned it for sure!
Thank you for that Cara. I'm a recent subscriber because RU-vid recently started serving up your videos to me. I'm not a bartender - just someone who has been drinking Old Fashioneds and Sazeracs from way back - they are my go-to drinks and I prefer the split version which confuses some bartenders here in Sydney. One thought I was eccentric ;-) Also, yes please to Absinthe
When I was a bar manager, I did a sazerac with a Sazerac Rye infused with earl grey tea and honey simple. I really loved that, but I think now I need to try the split base to see if I maybe prefer that over rye or cognac.
Oh how I wish RU-vid would allow me to attach a photo of my absinthe fountain (I named her Titania). Regardless, Titania and I support an absinthe video!
I asked for a Cognag in the bar of the hotel i stayed in this summer. Bartender was suprised and didnt know what to do; instead of asking me to how to serve she just filled a high end glass and added ice in it aswell...
Very nice video. I got a great lesson in sazeracs and mixology. I just made the cognac version, but with what I have available. No absinthe and orange bitters. Really good for my first try. I’m definitely going to make the split version. I love whiskey. But I’ll get the right bitters, and maybe the absinthe.
I’d definitely love that video on absinthe!! It’s a little hard for me to drink because anise isn’t my favorite flavor but maybe after watching a video of yours on it, it’ll change my mind.
I like that you mentioned using something "special" with regards to the Absinthe. Personally, I always believed in using expensive alcohol for my cocktails, even for the most basic ingredients. I mean, certainly, I wouldn't normally use a bottle of Remy Martin worth thousands of dollars (not that I constantly have those lying around🤣), but honestly I'd rather that than something cheap. Even if I have to spend a bit more, I know that the money spent will show up in the taste. The texture will be smoother, the flavor will be less harsh and alcoholic (you know, that hot sensation that floods your nostrils) on the palate, and overall the cocktail itself will be more balanced because the individual flavors will be melting together rather than fighting each other.
Sure, there are certainly some big juicy/fruity ryes out there which could get close but at the end of the day cognac is a different spirit so always going to add something extra!
YES TO MORE ABSINTHE! I'm notorious for ordering "wet" CR#2s, and Sazeracs, making sure my local bartenders never waste the extra absinthe. Is wet the right word? "heavy", maybe? ~also , "Death in the Afternoon" for that episode, please uwu Kinda like saving the yolk of a sour, for a Prarie Oyster.
Split base is the best Sazerac for my money. I do 1.5 ounces Rye (usually Rittenhouse) and 0.5 ounce Cognac. That makes a great drink. Straight up Cognac is an unbalanced drink, IMO.
I always made it with Cognac because that’s what they used back then I believe . Nobody in my area likes Cognac for some reason even when I make sidecars and try to show off the Japanese cocktail one of my favs.
