Nothing is as it used to be with the pandemic still raging around the world. The Mardi Gras parade is cancelled, the Carnevale di Venezia is online and the Carnevale in Rio is postponed indefinitely. What can you do to lighten the mood whilst waiting for the world to be vaccinated if not to make your own Sazerac and dream about celebrations to come.

The Sazerac is claimed to be the original cocktail was created in New Orleans in 1838 by an apothecary named Antoine Peychaud. He mixed up cognac, absinthe and his own herbal remedy he dubbed Peychaud's Bitters and served it in an egg shaped cup, in French called a coquetier. The Americans started calling the cup a cocktay and hence the word cocktail was born. The cognac Peychaud originally used was Sazerac de Forge & Fils but by 1870 the cognac was substituted for rye whiskey. In 2008 the Sazerac was voted New Orleans official cocktail.

The Revolution glass was designed by Felicia Ferrone in 2001.

Sazerac

1/4 part Absinthe of Herbsaint

1 sugar cube

2 daches Peychaud’s bitters

4 parts Cognac or Rye Whiskey

1 Lemon twist

Twirls Absinthe or Herbsaint to cover the inside of the glass, then discard. Muddle sugar and bitters. Stir sugar, bitters and Cognac or Rye with ice. Garnish with a lemon twist.