Spirited Cocktails

The Sazerac is one of the oldest cocktails on record – and supposedly the first cocktail invented in America. It came into being in New Orleans, Louisiana in the 1830’s, and was originally made with cognac and Peychaud bitters (created by Antoine Amédée Peychaud). The Peychaud bitters are still a key ingredient, but the most common preparation of the cocktail is now with rye rather than cognac (even though our friend @halw likes to mess with bartenders by ordering it with cognac anyway.)

I came late to the Sazerac, but was introduced to it by another friend, @livethelushlife, who counts the Sazerac among her absolute favorite cocktails. And it really came to life for me when I had the chance to sample the cocktail in its native environment – New Orleans – where the Sazerac is still an institution. Read More

I’ll admit it – I’ve been behind on the absinthe resurgence. For those of you who are unfamiliar, absinthe is a high-proof distilled spirit with an anise (licorice) flavor. It has a storied past, dating back to the early 20th century, when it was banned in most parts of the developed world after having been accused of having psychogenic properties (beyond those of normal alcohol.) The psychogenic properties were thought to be related to inclusion of the herb commonly known as wormwood. However, over time, these accusations have been disproven, and contrary to popular belief, absinthe has been legally available in the United States since 2007.

But again, I’ll admit to being behind on the resurgence. I’ve always kept Pernod around, a common absinthe substitute available during the ban,  and despite absinthe being widely available again, I hadn’t changed my habits. Recently, though, I was sent a bottle of Lucid absinthe to review, so I thought now would be as good a time as any to see how it compares to its colorful past!

I thought I’d start with a mixed cocktail called Absinthe No 2. Over the next week or two, I’ll also tell you about the most traditional way to experience absinthe – the Absinthe Drip. Read More

So how was your Memorial Day weekend? Calm and relaxed? Or perhaps quite the opposite? Maybe one too many Flamingo cocktails at the beach? If so, another cocktail may be the furthest thing from your mind. But if you tend towards the whole “hair of the dog” approach, the Corpse Reviver #2 (aptly named) might be just what the doctor ordered (no doctor I know, but I’m sure there’s a quack out there who would prescribe this.) Read More

The folks over at LiquorSnob.com have a recipe for the very timely Swine Flu Cocktail. It has all the necessary ingredients:

• Absinthe (medicinal, of course)
• Tequila (from our friends in Mexico)
• Bacon-infused Bourbon (obviously)
• And Lemoncello (why not?)

You can find the full recipe here. Enjoy!