The Cocktail Spirit with Robert Hess

Looks like a great time! Loved the go-cup reference.

For those of you outside of the New Orleans area the go-cup is a magical plastic/styrofoam cup for pouring of the last savory bit of your cocktail/beer into when you leave the restaurant or bar.

Cheers! See you guys at Tales.
http://www.talesofthecocktail.com

Brad

Gotta love the New Orleans Go Cup!… and their Sazeracs.

Although I have to slightly disagree with my dear friend Mr. Wondrich. You really can’t get the Sazerac made “properly” all over New Orleans. Far too many bars down there these days have fallen under the spell of using far too much simple syrup in their drinks. It is an understandable evolution, seeing as the “common” tourist/customer of the French Quarter bars are fresh off of Bourbon Street, and the various “alcohol delivery vehicals” which pass as “cocktails” there. The order of business is to drown the booze with either sugar, or fruit juices, or both in order to appeal to the younger drinkers. This means that when they get to a “real” bar and go for that quinticential New Orleans cocktail, they end up with a rather rude awakening. So the bartenders have simply learned to go heavy on the simple syrup (or sugar) in order to make the drink more “approachable”.

Hopefully with the increased focus that Ann has been putting on the Sazerac, we can turn this around, and get more bars in New Orleans (and the rest of the world) to get back to making the Sazerac in a more proper fashion.

“If you are wanting a sweet drink, don’t order a Sazerac.”

-Robert

Kudos to your episode on the Sazerac! I love to see folks spreading the word. Ann did a great job ( she’s a dear, isn’t she?). I just taught a class at our restaurant about the history of the Sazerac and I’m happy to say I’ve turned some of these yankees in New York City over to the amber - side. I’m also looking forward to meeting David Wondrich and you, Robert, at Tales. And, folks, if you haven’t read Imbibe by Mr. Wondrich yet, you’re missing out.

Laissez les Bon Temps Rouler,

Kimberly Patton-Bragg

Great episode. Looking forward to the rest of the sazerac series. We’ve been drinking these in our home all winter long (and into our extended cool weather spring). Our rye of choice is the Rittenhouse Rye. Started with Old Overholt, tried Sazerac, but settled on the Rittenhouse. I don’t muddle my sugar. I use simple syrup.  I guess it would dilute the drink a bit less using the cube.

This was the first whiskey-based cocktail my better half enjoyed. She loves ‘em. If you have not had one, order one or better yet, get the ingredients and play.

Cheers,
Perry Willis
Cocktail Enthusiast

Thanks for this series, Robert ... looking forward to the rest!

Robert is right about the inconsistency of the Sazerac’s quality in New Orleans—unfortunately, getting a good Sazerac in New Orleans can be a quest with very uneven results.  My heart sinks and all I can do is sigh when I see the bartender grab both Angostura and Peychaud’s bitters by the neck and shake them into the mixing glass in equal quantities, or especially watching him or her put in an inch of simple syrup. 

Sadly, the worst Sazeracs in town were at the drink’s namesake bar at the Fairmont Hotel; although it was a beautiful bar, the Sazeracs (made with a pre-mix by lazy bartenders) were lousy unless you insisted that one be made from scratch, and even then it was dicey.  To compound the sadness that beautiful and historic bar is no longer with us, as the Fairmont never reopened after Hurricane Katrina and the Federal Flood.  Let’s hope someone resurrects both the hotel and the bar soon, and with caring bartenders this time.

If y’all want a great Sazerac in New Orleans, go to the Swizzle Stick Bar at Café Adelaide in the Loew’s Hotel at 300 Poydras downtown, and have Lu Brow make you one, or to MiLa at the Pere Marquette Hotel and see Chris McMillian.

Looking forward to the rest of this mini series. It’s pretty much impossible to get Rye Whiskey here in Poland so I make my Sazeracs with cognac, which from what I gather isn’t a dishonour to this wonderful cocktail.

@ Tomek:  Not at all!  The original Saz was made with Cognac—a Cognac called Sazerac de Forge & Fils in fact, whence the drink gets its name.  Far from a dishonor, one affirmatively honors the Sazerac by making it with Cognac (just use a good one, please).  That said, smuggle in some rye and you’ll really understand the hype!

Robert, great episode and can’t wait to see the rest.  Bless Elixir for using the “real stuff” (esp. rye, Peychaud’s and Herbsaint) and for really getting almost exactly right.  And amen to adding the lemon twist to the drink before serving!  But even so, I must say the example prepared by the bartender had a few problems:

1.  Not nearly enough Peychaud’s (it takes more than that which merely soaks a single sugar cube.  Four heavy dashes, administered in the mixing glass, gives you about the right amount)

2.  Too much water (if you use enough bitters, you don’t need more than the barest dash of water to muddle the sugar in)

3.  Not enough muddling (you’ve got to *completely* dissolve that sugar!  No residue please!  Hard to do in a rounded-bottom glass, which is one reason why the drink should be prepared and served in an Old Fasioned glass.  In a busy bar, I know it’s hard to completely dissolve a sugar cube no matter what glass you’re using—so use simple syrup in that case, and no water at all)

4.  Personal preference, but I don’t co-mingle the steps of chilling the serving glass and rinsing it with Herbsaint/absinthe.  Rather, I chill the serving glass with crushed ice and water, leaving the Herbsaint/absinthe rinse as its own step after I empty out the icewater and immediately prior to straining in the drink itself.  But that’s a minor one.

Ultimately, just nits in the face of the larger point—authentic Sazeracs in SF is a wonderful thing.

Cheers,

Mike

What fun this party was! Thanks to Ann, David, Collin, the crowd, The Sazerac Company, my staff, Dominic and, of course Robert, for all of thier support of this party, Elixir and San Francisco Cocktail Week. I hope the Small Screen Network will return for an event at the third one (stay in touch by signing up at http://www.sfcocktailweek.com) next year. See you all at the Carousel Bar in July...with a Sazerac!