Reserve Sazerac Recipe

Cocktail

1. 1

   Prepare glass

   Chill an Old-Fashioned glass (rocks glass) by filling it with ice and setting it aside while you prepare the cocktail.

2. 2

   Coat the glass with absinthe

   Empty the ice from the chilled glass. Pour 1/4 oz absinthe into the glass, swirl to coat the interior thoroughly (including the sides and bottom), then discard any excess (or pour out leaving a thin lacing). Set the glass aside.

3. 3

   Build the cocktail

   In a mixing glass, add 2 oz Thomas H. Handy rye and 1/4 oz Hennessy XO. Add 3 dashes of Peychaud's bitters and 1/4 oz simple syrup (or a muddled sugar cube). Fill the mixing glass with large ice.

4. 4

   Stir

   Stir the mixture briskly for 20–30 seconds (or about 15–20 full stir strokes) until well chilled and properly diluted (glass becomes cold and slightly wet on the outside).

5. 5

   Strain and finish

   Strain the chilled cocktail into the absinthe-coated Old-Fashioned glass over a single large ice cube (or without ice if preferred).

6. 6

   Garnish

   Express the oils from a large lemon peel over the drink by holding it skin-side down and giving it a hard squeeze to release the oils, then run the peel around the rim and drop it into the glass (or discard if preferred).

7. 7

   Serve

   Serve immediately. Sip slowly to appreciate the layered rye and cognac notes, with Peychaud's lift and the anise of the absinthe.