When we think about cocktails, the base spirit usually comes to mind first. But the Sazerac began with its bitters.
In the late 1700s, Antoine Amédée Peychaud immigrated to New Orleans from Haiti, bringing with him a recipe for bitters. When he opened a pharmacy in the 1830s, he began serving his bitters medicinally with sugar and cognac.
“Eventually people began asking for Peychaud’s bitters about town,” says cocktail historian Elizabeth Pearce , author of Drink Dat New Orleans. “One place [that had them] was the Sazerac Bar, located in the 100 block of Royal Street.” This bar combined the...
